It would be an understatement to say that Hiram Bingham III, Connecticut’s famous archaeologist, explorer, professor, pilot, politician, and best-selling author who likely was the inspiration for the fictional adventurer Indiana Jones, accomplished much in his lifetime. It remains an irony, however, that one of Bingham’s most well-known accomplishments was also one of the…
Tag: connecticut governors
January 6: The Inaugural Ball That Wasn’t
Long known as “the Land of Steady Habits,” Connecticut is home to scores of political and cultural traditions that span generations, including many that stretch back into the colonial era. One such tradition has been the Inaugural Ball, a ceremony filled with plenty of pomp and circumstance thrown for newly-elected governors by the Governor’s…
December 26: Connecticut’s “Crowbar Governor”
While the state — and colony — of Connecticut has been helmed by a number of colorful personalities over its long history, few of them can compare to the widely-accomplished Morgan G. Bulkeley: Civil War veteran, financier, insurance executive, baseball enthusiast, and strong-arm politician who earned himself the nickname “the Crowbar Governor” while in…
December 7: Civil War Veteran, Governor, and Baseball Hall of Famer
Morgan Gardner Bulkeley, long-time Connecticut politician and successful businessman, was undoubtedly one of the most accomplished men to ever hold the office of state governor. However, while many Connecticans are familiar with Bulkeley’s many namesakes in the Hartford area (including a school, a street, and the long, stone-arch bridge that carries Interstate 84 over…
November 24: William O’Neill, Connecticut’s Longest-Serving Governor
In many respects, Governor William A. O’Neill lived the life of a quintessential 20th century Connectican. Born in Hartford in 1930, he attended public schools in hEast Hampton, took classes at the Connecticut Teacher’s College (now Central Connecticut State University), and subsequently held jobs in two of Connecticut’s major industries: first at Pratt…
November 16: Joseph Talcott, Connecticut’s First Native-Born Governor
Joseph Talcott was born on November 16, 1669 in Hartford, to one of the leading families in the colony of Connecticut. His father served as treasurer of Connecticut, and his grandfather John was one of the very first English settlers to buy land in the colony in the early 1630s. Even though he was…
November 4: Connecticut Founder John Winthrop Jr. Arrives in America
Today in 1631, John Winthrop, Jr., one of the most significant leaders in Connecticut history, first set foot in the New World, having arrived in Boston where his father, John Winthrop Sr., was governor. A remarkable Renaissance man of many talents, the younger Winthrop was well-versed in medicine, theology, and alchemy, and quickly acquired…
October 15: From Connecticut Governor to Russian Ambassador
On this day in 1853, Thomas H. Seymour, one of Connecticut’s most accomplished — and controversial — 19th century politicians, resigned his role as Governor in order to accept his nomination by President Franklin Pierce to become the United States’ next minister to Russia. It was the latest in a long list of prestigious…
June 21: Governor John Rowland Resigns
“I acknowledge that my poor judgment brought us here,” said John Rowland to a sea of reporters, standing on the back lawn of the Connecticut Governor’s Mansion in Hartford. The date was June 21, 2004, and Rowland was announcing his resignation amid a federal corruption investigation and impeachment inquiry. His Lieutenant Governor, M. Jodi…
May 25: Chester Bowles: Connecticut’s Civil Rights-Era Governor
Chester Bliss Bowles was one of Connecticut’s most accomplished and ambitious politicians of the 20th century. Born in Massachusetts in 1901, he attended private school in Connecticut and graduated from Yale in 1924. After college, he worked as a copywriter at an advertising agency in New York City before co-founding his own ad firm…
April 9: Abraham Ribicoff Born in New Britain
On April 9, 1910, Abraham Alexander Ribicoff was born in a New Britain tenement house to Ashkenazi Jewish parents who had immigrated to Connecticut from Poland. Over the course of his lifetime, he would spend nearly fifty years in public service in local, state, and federal government and become one of Connecticut’s most notable…