William Hayden English
19th-century American politician / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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William Hayden English (August 27, 1822 – February 7, 1896) was an American politician. He served as a U.S. Representative from Indiana from 1853 to 1861 and was the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1880.
William Hayden English | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 2nd district | |
| In office March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1861 | |
| Preceded by | Cyrus L. Dunham |
| Succeeded by | James A. Cravens |
| Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives | |
| In office March 8, 1852 – June 21, 1852 | |
| Preceded by | John Wesley Davis |
| Succeeded by | Oliver Brooks Torbet |
| Member of the Indiana House of Representatives | |
| In office 1851–1853 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1822-08-27)August 27, 1822 Lexington, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | February 7, 1896(1896-02-07) (aged 73) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Emma Jackson |
| Children | 2, including William |
| Education | Hanover College (no degree) |
English entered politics at a young age, becoming a part of Jesse D. Bright's conservative faction of the Indiana Democratic Party. After four years in the federal bureaucracy in Washington, from 1845, he returned to Indiana and participated in the state constitutional convention of 1850. He was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives in 1851 and served as its speaker at the age of twenty-nine. After a two-year term in the state house, English represented Indiana in the federal House of Representatives for four terms from 1853 to 1861, working most notably to achieve a compromise on the admission of Kansas as a state.
English retired from the House in 1861, but remained involved in party affairs. In the American Civil War he was a War Democrat, supporting the Union war effort. As well as pursuing a political career, he was an author and businessman. He owned an opera house, was president of a bank, and developed many residential properties. English was successful in business, and became one of the wealthiest men in Indiana. After nearly two decades in the private sector, English returned to political life as the Democratic nominee for vice president in 1880. English and his presidential running mate, Winfield Scott Hancock, lost narrowly to their Republican opponents, James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur.