George R. Riddle - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

George Read Riddle was an American engineer, lawyer and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party who served as U.S. Representative and as U.S. Senator from Delaware.

Early life and family

Riddle was born in New Castle, Delaware and studied civil engineering at Delaware College, now the University of Delaware

University of Delaware

The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

. In addition he studied law and was admitted to the Delaware Bar in 1848, beginning a practice in Wilmington, Delaware. With his engineering background, he was named as a commissioner to retrace the Mason-Dixon Line

Mason-Dixon line

The Mason–Dixon Line was surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in the resolution of a border dispute between British colonies in Colonial America. It forms a demarcation line among four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and...

in 1849, and was otherwise engaged in the construction of railroads and canals. During the Civil War, Riddle served with the Home Guard of Wilmington. His wife's name was Margaret.

Political career

From 1849 to 1850, Riddle served as a Deputy Attorney General of the United States. After losing in the election of 1844, he was elected to the U.S. House in 1850 and served for two terms from March 4, 1851 until March 3, 1855. During the 33rd Congress, Riddle was the Chairman of the Committee on Engraving. Running for a third term he was defeated in 1854 by Elisha D. Cullen.

On February 2, 1864 Riddle was elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of U.S. Senator James A. Bayard, Jr. He served until his death on March 29, 1867.

Death and legacy

Riddle died while in office at Washington, D.C. and is buried in the Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery at Wilmington.

Almanac

Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1. U.S. Representatives took office March 4 and have a two year term. The General Assembly chose the U.S. Senators, who also took office March 4, but for a six year term. In this case he was completing the existing term, the vacancy caused by the resignation of James A. Bayard, Jr.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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|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...

|Legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

|Washington

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....

United States House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Washington

Washington, D.C.

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

|Legislature

Legislature

|Washington

Washington, D.C.

|February 2, 1864
|March 29, 1867
|

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |United States Congressional service
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! Dates
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! Chamber
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|1851–1853
|32nd

32nd United States Congress

The Thirty-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1851 to March 3, 1853, during the third and...

|U.S. House

United States House of Representatives

|Democratic

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...

|Millard Fillmore

Millard Fillmore

Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...

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|at-large

Delaware's At-large congressional district

Delaware's At-large congressional district is a congressional district that includes the entire U.S. state of Delaware.It is currently represented by Democrat John C. Carney, Jr., the former Lieutenant Governor of Delaware.-Voting:-History:...

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|1853–1855
|33rd

33rd United States Congress

The Thirty-third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1853 to March 3, 1855, during the first two years...

|U.S. House

United States House of Representatives

|Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

|Franklin Pierce

Franklin Pierce

Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...

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|at-large

Delaware's At-large congressional district

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|1863–1865
|38th

38th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:Before this Congress, the 1860 United States Census and resulting reapportionment changed the size of the House to 241 members...

|U.S. Senate

United States Senate

|Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

|Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

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|class 1

Classes of United States Senators

The three classes of United States Senators are currently made up of 33 or 34 Senate seats. The purpose of the classes is to determine which Senate seats will be up for election in a given year. The three groups are staggered so that one of them is up for election every two years.A senator's...

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|1865–1867
|39th

39th United States Congress

The Thirty-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1865 to March 4, 1867, during the first month of...

|U.S. Senate

United States Senate

|Republican

Republican Party (United States)

|Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...

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|class 1

Classes of United States Senators

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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!colspan=13 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
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!Year
!Office
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!Subject
!Party
!Votes
!%
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|1844

United States House elections, 1844

Elections to the United States House of Representatives to elected Representatives to the 29th United States Congress were held in the various states between July 1, 1844 and November 4, 1845. All 227 members of the House of Representatives elected took their seats when Congress convened December...

John W. Houston

John Wallace Houston was an American lawyer and politician from Georgetown, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party and the Democratic Party, who served as U.S...

| |Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

| |6,229
| |51%
|
|-
|1850
|U.S. Representative
|
| |George R. Riddle
| |Democratic
| |6,055
| |49%
|
| |George B. Rodney

George B. Rodney

George Brydges Rodney was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party, who served as United States Representative from Delaware.-Early life and family:...

| |Whig

Whig Party (United States)

| |5,926
| |48%
|
|-
|1852
|U.S. Representative
|
| |George R. Riddle
| |Democratic
| |6,692
| |50%
|
| |John W. Houston

John W. Houston

John Wallace Houston was an American lawyer and politician from Georgetown, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party and the Democratic Party, who served as U.S...

| |Whig

Whig Party (United States)

| |6,630
| |50%
|
|-
|1854
|U.S. Representative
|
| |George R. Riddle
| |Democratic
| |6,334
| |48%
|
| |Elisha D. Cullen

Elisha D. Cullen

Elisha Dickerson Cullen was an American lawyer and politician from Georgetown, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the American Party, who served as U. S...

| |American
| |6,820
| |52%
|

External links

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society
Delaware Historical Society
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.The society...

; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.