Levi K. Fuller
Encyclopedia
Levi Knight Fuller was the 44th Governor of Vermont
from 1892 to 1894.
Estey Organ
Company, and in 1865 married Abby Estey, the owner's daughter. He patented over one hundred inventions, including international standard pitch, an innovation that was adopted by manufacturers of musical instruments throughout the world, and called by the maker of Steinway pianos "perhaps the most important achievement in the annals of musical history."
Shaw University
, the South's oldest historically African-American college. Fuller served as a director of the Brattleboro Savings Bank and a trustee of Brattleboro Free Library.
Fuller was a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
, American Association for the Advancement of Science
, Astronomical Society of the Pacific
, and American Institute of Electrical Engineers
. He was active in the Sons of the American Revolution
, and served as president of the Vermont chapter.
The University of Vermont
conferred Fuller an honorary master's degree in 1893, and Norwich University
presented him an honorary LL.D. degree in 1895.
.
Governor of Vermont
The Governor of Vermont is the governor of the U.S. state of Vermont. The governor is elected in even numbered years by direct voting for a term of two years; Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold gubernatorial elections every two years, instead of every four...
from 1892 to 1894.
Early life
Born in Westmoreland, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, and attended Brattleboro High School and later apprenticed as a machinist in Boston, also working as telegrapher to finance additional studies in engineering and manufacturing.Career with Estey Organ Company
Fuller became an engineer and executive with Brattleboro'sBrattleboro, Vermont
Brattleboro, originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States, located in the southeast corner of the state, along the state line with New Hampshire. The population was 12,046 at the 2010 census...
Estey Organ
Estey Organ
The Estey Organ Company was founded by Jacob Estey when he bought out a Brattleboro, Vermont manufacturing business in 1852. The company went on to become the largest manufacturer of organs in the United States. The original company had been founded in 1846...
Company, and in 1865 married Abby Estey, the owner's daughter. He patented over one hundred inventions, including international standard pitch, an innovation that was adopted by manufacturers of musical instruments throughout the world, and called by the maker of Steinway pianos "perhaps the most important achievement in the annals of musical history."
Philanthropy and other pursuits
Fuller was also an astronomer, and built his own observatory and library. He was a founder of North Carolina'sNorth Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
Shaw University
Shaw University
Shaw University, founded as Raleigh Institute, is a private liberal arts institution and historically black university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1865, it is the oldest HBCU in the Southern United States....
, the South's oldest historically African-American college. Fuller served as a director of the Brattleboro Savings Bank and a trustee of Brattleboro Free Library.
Fuller was a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers is a professional body, specifically an engineering society, focused on mechanical engineering....
, American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
, Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific is a scientific and educational organization, founded in San Francisco on February 7, 1889. Its name derives from its origins on the Pacific Coast, but today it has members all over the country and the world...
, and American Institute of Electrical Engineers
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a non-profit professional association headquartered in New York City that is dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence...
. He was active in the Sons of the American Revolution
Sons of the American Revolution
The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution is a Louisville, Kentucky-based fraternal organization in the United States...
, and served as president of the Vermont chapter.
The University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
conferred Fuller an honorary master's degree in 1893, and Norwich University
Norwich University
Norwich University is a private university located in Northfield, Vermont . The university was founded in 1819 at Norwich, Vermont, as the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy. It is the oldest of six Senior Military Colleges, and is recognized by the United States Department of...
presented him an honorary LL.D. degree in 1895.
Military service
In the 1870s he organized the Fuller Light Battery. Fuller equipped and funded the unit for two years, when it was accepted into the Vermont National Guard. As a result of Fuller's efforts, the Vermont National Guard was the first state to field rifled artillery. The Fuller Light Battery was noted for its efficiency and accuracy, and won numerous gunnery competitions. In 1887 he was appointed a colonel on the staff of Governor Julius ConverseJulius Converse
Julius Converse was the 34th Governor of Vermont, from 1872 to Julius Converse was the [[List of Governors of Vermont|34th Governor of Vermont]], from 1872 to...
.
Political career
A Republican, he served as a state senator from 1880 to 1881, and lieutenant governor from 1886 to 1887. In 1892 Fuller was selected as the Republican nominee for governor. He won the general election and served the single two-year term then available to Vermont governors under the dominant Republican party's "Mountain Rule." (Under the Mountain Rule, the governorship rotated between residents of the east and west side of the Green Mountains, and governors served two years.) Active in the "good roads" movement of the late 19th century, Fuller's term was notable for the creation of Vermont's first statewide effort to regulate their construction and maintenance, the Board of Highway Commissioners.Post-gubernatorial career and death
After serving as governor he returned to his work at Estey Organ. Fuller's sudden death in Brattleboro on October 10, 1896, just two years after leaving office was attributed to overwork and anemia. He was buried in Brattleboro's Morningside Cemetery.Sources
- Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont, edited by Hiram Carleton, 1903, pages 380 to 383
- Newspaper article, Working for Good Roads, New York Times, July 6, 1894
- Newspaper article, For Better Highways, Chicago Tribune, May 17, 1896
- Newspaper article, Colonel Levi P. Fuller, Death of a Prominent Vermont Man Once Governor, Hartford Courant, October 10, 1896
- Newspaper article, Funeral of Ex Governor Fuller of Vermont, Boston Evening Transcript, October 14, 1896
- Joint Resolution 340, On the Death of Ex-Governor Fuller, Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont, 1896, pages 475 to 476
- Annals of Brattleboro, 1681–1895, Mary Rogers Cabot, 1922, Volume 2, Page 909 to 911
- Norwich University, 1819–1911; Her History, Her Graduates, Her Roll of Honor, by William Arba Ellis and Grenville Mellen Dodge, 1911, Volume 3, pages 528 to 529
- Manufacturing the Muse: Estey Organs & Consumer Culture in Victorian America, by Dennis Waring, 2002, pages 111 to 113
- A National Register of the Society, Sons of the American Revolution, published by the Society, 1902, page 974
- Vermont: The Green Mountain State, by Walter Hill Crockett, 1921, Volume 4, pages 226 to 227
- History of Ashburnham, Massachusetts, by Ezra Scollay Stearns, 1887, page 647
- Good Roads, League of American Wheelmen, Volume 6, July to December 1894, page 153
- Who's Who in America, John William Leonard and Albert Nelson Marquis, 1901, Volume 2, page 41
- Transactions of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, published by the Society, 1897, Volume 18, page 1093
- The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, published by James T. White and Company, New York, 1898, Volume 8, page 330