William Alfred Buckingham (May 28, 1804 – February 5, 1875) was a Republican United States Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 from Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

.

Born in Lebanon, Connecticut

Lebanon, Connecticut

Lebanon is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 6,907 at the 2000 census. The town lies just to the northwest of Norwich, north of New London, and east of Hartford...

, Buckingham attended the common schools and Bacon Academy

Bacon Academy

Bacon Academy is a public high school in Colchester, Connecticut, in the United States.In 1800 a prominent Colchester farmer, Pierpont Bacon, died and left an endowment of thirty-five thousand dollars . The endowment was to theThis established the academy that bears his name...

 in Colchester, Connecticut

Colchester, Connecticut

Colchester is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 14,551 at the 2000 census. In 2005 it was ranked 57th on the "100 Best Places to Live" in all of the United States, conducted by CNN...

. He engaged in mercantile pursuits and in manufacturing. He served as the mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of Norwich, Connecticut

Norwich, Connecticut

Regular steamship service between New York and Boston helped Norwich to prosper as a shipping center through the early part of the 20th century. During the Civil War, Norwich once again rallied and saw the growth of its textile, armaments, and specialty item manufacturing...

 from 1849 to 1850, and again form 1856 to 1857. He then served as the 41st Governor of Connecticut from 1858 to 1866, after which he resumed his former business pursuits.

Buckingham was elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1869 until his death in 1875. While in the Senate, Buckingham served as chairman of the Committee on Engrossed Bills, the Committee on Investigation and Retrenchment, and the Committee on Indian Affairs. He was interred in Yantic Cemetery in Norwich.

The ship USS Governor Buckingham (1863)

USS Governor Buckingham (1863)

The USS Governor Buckingham was a hermaphrodite brig in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. The ship was built under contract by Messrs Maxon Fish & Co., Mystic, Conn., and was offered for sale to the Navy while on the ways; purchased at Stonington, Connecticut, 29 July 1863 by...

 is named after him.

Sources

• American National Biography
• Dictionary of American Biography
• Buckingham, Samuel G. The Life of William A. Buckingham. Springfield: W.F. Adams Co., 1894
• U.S. Congress. Memorial Addresses. 43rd Cong., 2nd sess. from 1874 to 1875. Washington, D.C.
  Washington, D.C.
  Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
  
  : Government Printing Office, 1875.