Austin Augustus King
| Austin A. King | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 6th district |
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In office March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865 |
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| Preceded by | John S. Phelps |
| Succeeded by | Robert T. Van Horn |
| 10th Governor of Missouri | |
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In office November 20, 1848 – January 3, 1853 |
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| Lieutenant | Thomas Lawson Price |
| Preceded by | John Cummins Edwards |
| Succeeded by | Sterling Price |
| Member of the Missouri House of Representatives | |
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In office 1834–1837 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 21, 1802 Sullivan County, Tennessee |
| Died | April 22, 1870 (aged 67) St. Louis, Missouri |
| Political party | Democratic, |
| Spouse(s) | Nancy (Roberts) King (1827-1857) (her death) Martha (Woodson) King (1858-1870) (his death), |
| Children | Six sons, three daughters. |
| Occupation | Lawyer, Jurist, Politician |
Austin Augustus King (September 21, 1801 – April 22, 1870), also known as Austin A. King and Austin King, was an American lawyer, politician, and military officer. A Democrat, he was the tenth Governor of Missouri and a one-term United States Congressman.
King was born in Sullivan County, Tennessee to Walter and Nancy (Sevier) King, one of eleven children. Nancy was the daughter of famed military leader and Tennessee politician John Sevier. King's father was a farmer and often helped him on the farm. Austin King received his education in the frontier schools of his native state and then studied law under an attorney, as was often the case in those times. he also took private lessons in Latin and Greek. King was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 1822 and practiced in the Jackson, Tennessee area until 1830 when he moved to Columbia, Boone County, Missouri.
In Columbia, King formed a successful law partnership with John B. Gordon, "riding the circuit"—by horse and sometimes by riverboat on the Missouri River—providing legal services to the communities of central and eastern Missouri. He also became involved with Missouri Democratic politics shortly after arriving. Another early affiliation and a family tradition along with politics, was military service. With the outbreak of the Black Hawk War in 1832, King was appointed a colonel and served with the First Regiment, Third Division, Missouri State Militia.
In 1834, King was elected to the first of two terms in the Missouri House of Representatives. Re-elected in 1836, King was known as a strong advocate for improving education in the state. To that end, in November 1836 he introduced legislation for the creation of a college dedicated to educating the teachers who served in the "common" schools of the state. This was the seed of the Normal school concept in Missouri. Throughout his political career, King also supported the establishment of a college in Richmond, Missouri, as well as Columbia College and the 1833 founding of "Columbia Female Academy", later known as Stephens College.
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