William Claflin (March 6, 1818 – January 5, 1905) was an industrialist and philanthropist who served as the 27th Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1869–1872 and as a member of the United States Congress from 1877–1881.
Claflin was born in 1818 in Milford, Massachusetts. After some education at Brown University, Claflin returned to his father Lee Claflin's shoe manufacturing company. He opened his own boot and shoe manufacturing f...
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William Claflin (March 6, 1818 – January 5, 1905) was an industrialist and philanthropist who served as the 27th Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1869–1872 and as a member of the United States Congress from 1877–1881.
Claflin was born in 1818 in Milford, Massachusetts. After some education at Brown University, Claflin returned to his father Lee Claflin's shoe manufacturing company. He opened his own boot and shoe manufacturing firm in St. Louis, but became a partner in the family's Massachusetts business five years later.
Claflin had a significant political career in Massachusetts. He was a founder of the Free Soil Party, served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1849–1853, and was elected to the Senate in 1859. By this time he had switched to the United States Republican Party and later served on its national committee. He became Senate President in 1861. After serving as Lieutenant Governor for Alexander Hamilton Bullock, Claflin was elected to the...
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