Owen Vincent Coffin was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politician and the 56th Governor of Connecticut from 1894 to 1897.

Early life

Coffin was born in Mansfield, New York

Mansfield, New York

Mansfield is a town in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 800 at the 2000 census. The name was thought to be that of a noble family in England....

. He studied at Cortland Academy and the Charlottesville Seminary. He later became President of the Brooklyn YMCA. In 1864, he moved to Connecticut. In 1875, he became president of the Middlesex County Agricultural Society.

Politics

Coffin became a member of the Connecticut Senate in 1887 and also in 1889. He became the 39th Governor of Connecticut in 1894. During his term, a legislation was passed that prohibited the use of convict labor in the production of food, drugs, and tobacco products. Several other changes also took place. A state board of mediation and arbitration was instituted, and a bill was enacted that disallowed children under the age of 14 from working. He left office on January 6, 1897.

Later life

After leaving the office, Coffin stayed active in his business ventures, and in his civic and religious dealings. He died on January 3, 1921.

Sources

• Sobel, Robert and John Raimo. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978. Greenwood Press, 1988. ISBN 0-313-28093-2