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John L. Helm

John L. Helm
John LaRue Helm, by Klauber.jpg
John L. Helm photographed by Klauber, Louisville, Kentucky, undated.
18th & 24th Governor of Kentucky
In office
September 3, 1867 – September 8, 1867
Lieutenant John W. Stevenson
Preceded by Thomas E. Bramlette
Succeeded by John W. Stevenson
In office
July 31, 1850 – September 2, 1851
Preceded by John J. Crittenden
Succeeded by Lazarus W. Powell
13th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
In office
September 6, 1848 – July 31, 1850
Governor John J. Crittenden
Preceded by Archibald Dixon
Succeeded by John Burton Thompson
Member of the Kentucky Senate
In office
1844
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives
In office
1826–1843
Personal details
Born (1802-07-04)July 4, 1802
Hardin County, Kentucky
Died September 8, 1867(1867-09-08) (aged 65)
Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Political party Democrat
Whig
Spouse(s) Lucinda Barbour Hardin
Relations Son-in-law of Benjamin Hardin
Father of Benjamin Hardin Helm
Residence Helm Place
Profession Lawyer
Signature

John LaRue Helm (July 4, 1802 – September 8, 1867) was the 18th and 24th governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky, although his service in that office totaled less than fourteen months. He also represented Hardin County in both houses of the Kentucky General Assembly and was chosen to be the Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives four times. In 1838 his sole bid for federal office ended in defeat when his opponent, Willis Green, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Helm was first elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1826; between 1826 and 1843 he served eleven one-year terms in the state house. In 1844 he was elected to the state senate, where he served continuously until he was chosen as the Whig Party nominee for lieutenant governor on a ticket with John J. Crittenden, famous for the Crittenden Compromise. The Whigs won the general election and Helm was elevated to governor on July 31, 1850, when Crittenden resigned to accept an appointment as United States Attorney General in President Millard Fillmore's cabinet. After his service as governor Helm became president of the struggling Louisville and Nashville Railroad. He invested thousands of dollars of his own money in the project and convinced residents along the line's main route to buy stock in the company. In 1859 the line was completed, but the next year Helm resigned over of differences with the board of directors regarding a proposed branch that would extend the line to Memphis, Tennessee.


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