Elisha Dyer Jr. | |
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45th Governor of Rhode Island | |
In office May 25, 1897 – May 29, 1900 |
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Lieutenant |
Aram J. Pothier William Gregory |
Preceded by | Charles W. Lippitt |
Succeeded by | William Gregory |
23rd Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island | |
In office January 1906 – November 29, 1906 |
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Preceded by | Augustus S. Miller |
Succeeded by | Patrick J. McCarthy |
Member of the Rhode Island Senate | |
In office 1877 1904 |
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Member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives | |
In office 1882 |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Providence, Rhode Island |
November 29, 1839
Died | November 29, 1906 Providence, Rhode Island |
(aged 67)
Resting place | Swan Point Cemetery |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Nancy A. Viall |
Parents |
Elisha Dyer, Anna Jones Hoppin |
Alma mater | Brown University |
Signature |
Elisha Dyer Jr. (November 29, 1839 – November 29, 1906) was a Rhode Island politician who was 45th Governor of Rhode Island from 1897 to 1900. He was the son of Elisha Dyer, Governor of Rhode Island from 1857 to 1859.
Dyer was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Brown University and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Giessen. While attending Brown, he joined the Zeta Psi Fraternity.
On the outbreak of the Civil War, Elisha Dyer Jr. enlisted as the 4th sergeant of the 1st Light Artillery Battery of Rhode Island on April 15, 1861. Sergeant Dyer was sent with the battery to Easton, Pennsylvania to train other volunteer artillery units. Dyer was discharged shortly after his arrival due to accidental injuries he suffered after an explosion of a limber chest, on April 21, 1861. Dyer spent the remainder of the war as the Lieutenant Colonel in command of the Providence Train of Artillery of the Rhode Island Militia and also served as military aide-de-camp to Governor James Y. Smith from 1863 to 1866.
After the war, he was a longtime member of the Rhode Island Militia, ultimately rising to the rank of brigadier general.
Dyer was elected to the Rhode Island Senate in 1877 and to the Rhode Island House of Representatives in 1882. He was Adjutant General of Rhode Island, with the rank of brigadier general, from 1882 to 1895.
In 1896, he was elected Governor of Rhode Island as a Republican. He was re-elected twice and served from 1897 to 1900.
After serving as governor, he was again elected to the state Senate in 1904, and then was elected Mayor of Providence in 1905. He died in Providence, while serving in office as Mayor, on his 67th birthday in 1906. He is interred in Swan Point Cemetery in Providence.