Michael Hahn
| Michael Hahn | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 19th Governor of Louisiana | |
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In office March 4, 1864 – March 4, 1865 |
|
| Lieutenant | James M. Wells |
| Preceded by |
Henry Watkins Allen (Confederate Governor) George F. Shepley |
| Succeeded by | James M. Wells |
| Member of the U. S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 2nd congressional district | |
|
In office December 3, 1862 – March 4, 1863 |
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| Preceded by | Miles Taylor |
| Succeeded by | James Mann |
| Member of the U. S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 2nd congressional district | |
|
In office March 4, 1885 – March 15, 1886 |
|
| Preceded by | Ezekiel John Ellis |
| Succeeded by | Nathaniel Dick Wallace |
| Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives | |
|
In office 1871-1878 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 24, 1830 Klingenmünster, Palatinate, Kingdom of Bavaria (now Rhineland-Palatinate) |
| Died | March 15, 1886 (aged 55) Washington, DC |
| Political party | Unionist, until 1863 Republican |
| Alma mater | Tulane University |
George Michael Decker Hahn (November 24, 1830 – March 15, 1886), a native of Germany and immigrant to the United States as a child, became an attorney, politician, publisher and planter in New Orleans, Louisiana. He served twice in Congress during two widely separated periods, elected first as a Unionist Democratic Congressman in 1862, as a Republican US Senator in 1865, and later as a Republican Congressman in 1884. He was elected as the 19th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1864 to 1865 during the American Civil War, when the state was occupied by Union troops. He was the first German-born governor in the United States, and is also claimed as the first Jewish governor; by that time he was a practicing Episcopalian.
In 1865 Hahn was elected as US Senator, but Radical Republicans refused to allow him and other Southerners to be seated. Later he was elected for several terms as a Republican to the state House during the Reconstruction era, where he was also elected as Speaker. He was active as a publisher and editor, owning and operating three newspapers in succession that supported the Republican Party, its program, and its candidates in the state. He spent much of his wealth in supporting these papers. Hahn continued to be politically active, being elected to Congress from the 2nd congressional district in 1884 with a strong majority, and serving about a year until his death in office.
Hahn was born as the last child in his family, in Klingenmünster, Palatinate, then part of the Kingdom of Bavaria, now of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany; his father died before he was born. Some sources indicate that Hahn's parents were Jewish.
With his widowed mother and four older siblings, Hahn immigrated as a child to the United States, arriving in New York City. They traveled to the Republic of Texas, before settling in New Orleans in 1840. The following year, Hahn's mother died of yellow fever and the children were orphaned. With the help of his older siblings, Hahn continued his education and graduated from City High School. In 1849 at the age of 19, he began reading law under Christian Roselius, a prominent Whig attorney and later Attorney General of Louisiana. In 1851, Hahn graduated from the University of Louisiana (Tulane University) with a law degree. He worked in Roselius' office after getting his degree.
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Wikipedia