Richard P. Bland
| Richard P. Bland | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 8th district |
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In office March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895 |
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| Preceded by | John J. O'Neill |
| Succeeded by | Joel D. Hubbard |
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In office March 4, 1897 – June 15, 1899 |
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| Preceded by | Joel D. Hubbard |
| Succeeded by | Dorsey W. Shackleford |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 11th district |
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In office March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1893 |
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| Preceded by | John Bullock Clark, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Charles Frederick Joy |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 5th district |
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In office March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1883 |
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| Preceded by | John B. Clark, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Charles F. Joy |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Richard Parks Bland August 19, 1835 Hartford, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | June 15, 1899 (aged 63) Lebanon, Missouri, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Virginia Elizabeth Mitchell (1873–1899; his death); 9 children |
| Alma mater | Hartford College (Kentucky) |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
Richard Parks Bland (August 19, 1835 – June 15, 1899) was an American politician, lawyer, and educator from Missouri. A Democrat, Bland served in the United States Congress a total of twenty-four years between 1873 and 1899, representing at various times the Missouri 5th, 8th and 11th congressional districts. Nicknamed "Silver Dick" for his efforts to promote a United States return to bimetallism and an advocate of the free silver movement, Bland is best known for the Bland–Allison Act. The act, passed over President Rutherford B. Hayes veto in 1878, required the U.S. Treasury to buy a certain amount of silver and put it into circulation as silver dollars. Bland was a U.S. Presidential candidate in 1896, seeking the Democratic presidential nomination but lost to William Jennings Bryan.
Bland was born near Hartford, Ohio County, Kentucky to Stoughton Edward and Mary P. (Nall) Bland. His father was a descendant of one of the First Families of Virginia, including statesman and Continental Congress member Richard Bland. The Blands and Nalls were among the early families to emigrate from Virginia with Daniel Boone into the Kentucky wilderness. Despite the family pedigree and wealth in Virginia, Richard and his three siblings were raised in relative poverty on his parents small farm. In 1842, when Richard Bland was seven years old, the situation was exacerbated by the unexpected death of his father. His mother's death followed in 1849, leaving the young teenager an orphan and forcing Bland to hire himself out as a farm laborer to survive. Despite growing up poor, he was able to attend Hartford College and graduate with a teacher's certificate. Bland then taught school in his hometown for two years before moving to Wayne County, Missouri at age 20, in 1855.
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