Alexander Gordon Penn was a U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

.

Born near Stella, Virginia, Penn moved with his parents to Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

; he then completed preparatory studies and attended Emory and Henry College

Emory and Henry College

Emory & Henry College, known as E&H, Emory, or the College, is a private liberal arts college located in Emory, Virginia, United States. The campus comprises of Washington County, Virginia, which is part of the mountain region of Southwest Virginia...

, Marion, Virginia

Marion, Virginia

Marion is a town in Smyth County, Virginia, United States. The population was 5,968 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Smyth County. The town is named for American Revolutionary War officer Francis Marion.-Tourism:...

. Later he moved to the parish of St. Tammany, Louisiana, in 1821 and engaged in planting near Covington. He served in the State house of representatives.
Postmaster of New Orleans from December 19, 1843, to April 18, 1849.
He served as delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1844, 1852, 1856, and 1860.

Penn was elected as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to the Thirty-first Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John H. Harmanson.
He was reelected to the Thirty-second Congress and served from December 30, 1850, to March 3, 1853.
He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Thirty-second Congress).
He returned to St. Tammany Parish and engaged in planting and the operation of a lumber mill near Covington.
At the conclusion of the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 returned to Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, where he died May 7, 1866.
He was interred in Glenwood Cemetery.