Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback
| Pinckney B. S. Pinchback | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 24th Governor of Louisiana | |
|
In office December 9, 1872 – January 13, 1873 |
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| Preceded by | Henry C. Warmoth |
| Succeeded by | John McEnery |
| 12th Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana | |
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In office December 6, 1871 – December 9, 1872 |
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| Governor | Henry C. Warmoth |
| Preceded by | Oscar Dunn |
| Succeeded by | Davidson Penn |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Pinckney Benton Stewart May 10, 1837 Macon, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | December 21, 1921 (aged 84) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Nina Hawthorne |
| Education | Straight University (LLB) |
Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback (born Pinckney Benton Stewart May 10, 1837 – December 21, 1921) was an American publisher and politician, a Union Army officer, and the first African American to become governor of a U.S. state. A Republican, Pinchback served as the 24th Governor of Louisiana from December 9, 1872, to January 13, 1873. He was one of the most prominent African-American officeholders during the Reconstruction Era.
Pinchback was born free in Macon, Georgia to a mulatto woman and a white planter. His father, William Pinchback, raised the younger Pinchback as his own son on his plantation in Mississippi. After the death of his father in 1848, Pinchback and his mother fled to the free state of Ohio. After the start of the American Civil War, Pinchback traveled to Union-occupied New Orleans and raised several companies for the 1st Louisiana Native Guard, becoming one of few African American commissioned officers in the Union Army.
Pinchback remained in New Orleans after the Civil War, becoming active in Republican politics. He won election to the Louisiana State Senate in 1868 and became the president pro tempore of the state senate. He became the acting Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana upon the death of Oscar Dunn in 1871 and briefly served as Governor of Louisiana after Henry C. Warmoth was suspended from office. African Americans were increasingly disenfranchised after the end of Reconstruction in 1877 and Pinchback would be the only African American to serve as governor of a U.S. state until 1990. After the contested 1872 Louisiana gubernatorial election, Republican legislators elected Pinchback to the United States Senate. Due to the controversy over the 1872 elections, Pinchback was never seated in Congress.
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