The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Corwin, Thomas

CORWIN, Thomas, American statesman and orator: b. Bourbon County, Ky., 29 July 1794; d. Washington, D. C. 18 Dec 1865. He was admitted to the bar at Lebanon, Ohio, in 1817, and elected to the Ohio legislature in 1821. He became a member of Congress in 1831; was governor of Ohio 1840-42; United States senator 1845-50; Secretary of the Treasury 1850-53; member of Congress 1859-61, and United States Minister to Mexico 1861-64. He was an eloquent orator and one of his most famous speeches was delivered in the Senate 11 Feb. 1847, in opposition to the Mexican War. Consult Russel, &lsquo;Thomas Corwin&rsquo; (Cincinnati 1882), and Morrow, J., &lsquo;Life and Speeches of Thomas Corwin&rsquo; (Cincinnati 1896).