Andrew G. Curtin

Andrew Gregg Curtin


15th Governor of Pennsylvania
In office January 15, 1861 – January 15, 1867
Preceded by	William Packer
Succeeded by	John Geary
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 20th district
In office March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1887
Preceded by	Seth Yocum
Succeeded by	John Patton
United States Ambassador to Russia
In office October 28, 1869 – July 1, 1872
President	Ulysses S. Grant
Preceded by	Cassius M. Clay
Succeeded by	James Orr
Personal details
Born	(1815-04-22)April 22, 1815 or (1817-04-22)April 22, 1817 Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	October 7, 1894 (aged 77 or 79) Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Whig, Republican, Democratic
Profession	Politician, Lawyer
Religion	Presbyterian

Andrew Gregg Curtin (1815/1817 – October 7, 1894) was a U.S. lawyer and politician. He served as the Governor of Pennsylvania during the Civil War.

Curtin was born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Sources vary as to his birth date. Some list April 22, 1815; others list April 22, 1817. Curtin's gravestone uses the 1815 date. His parents were Roland Curtin, Sr., a wealthy Irish-born iron manufacturer from County Clare, and Jane (Gregg) Curtin, the daughter of U.S. Senator Andrew Gregg. His father, with Miles Boggs, established the Eagle Ironworks at Curtin Village in 1810. He attended Bellefonte Academy and Dickinson College and the Dickinson School of Law and was employed as a lawyer. Curtin first entered politics in the 1840 election, where he campaigned for Whig presidential candidate William Henry Harrison. In 1855, Governor James Pollock appointed him as Superintendent of Public Schools. With the collapse of the Whigs, Curtin switched to the newly formed Republican Party and successfully ran for governor of Pennsylvania in 1860. Curtin won re-election to the office in 1863. In the 1860 presidential election, Curtin helped Abraham Lincoln win the Republican nomination.