Robert C. Kirk was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politician who served as the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Ohio

Lieutenant Governor of Ohio

The position of lieutenant governor of Ohio was established in 1852. The lieutenant governor becomes governor if the governor resigns, dies in office or is removed by impeachment. Before 1852, the president of the Ohio State Senate would serve as acting governor if a vacancy in the governorship...

 from 1860 to 1862.

Biography

Robert C. Kirk was born February 26, 1821 in Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant, Ohio

Mount Pleasant is a village in Jefferson County, Ohio, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 535. It is part of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

, Jefferson County

Jefferson County, Ohio

Jefferson County is a county located in the state of Ohio. As of 2010, the population was 69,709. Its county seat is Steubenville and is named for Thomas Jefferson, who was at the time Vice President....

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. He attended primary schools in Mount Pleasant and entered Franklin College

Franklin College (New Athens, Ohio)

Franklin College was a college in New Athens, Ohio, founded by abolitionist John Walker, a Presbyterian minister. The college was called Alma college from 1818 until 1825, when the name was changed to Franklin College. The college ceased operation in 1919, and became associated with Muskingum...

 in New Athens, Ohio

New Athens, Ohio

New Athens is a village in Harrison County, Ohio, United States. The population was 342 at the 2000 census.During Morgan's Raid, a decisive Union victory in the Civil War in 1863, Confederate Brid. Gen...

, but did not graduate. He returned to his native town, studied medicine, and took a course at a medical university in Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

.

Kirk moved to Fulton County, Illinois

Fulton County, Illinois

Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 37,069, which is a decrease of 3.1% from 38,250 in 2000. Its county seat is Lewistown. Canton is the largest city. Both cities are southwest of Peoria, and the county is considered...

 and began a medical practice. Some years later, he returned to Ohio and was in the mercantile business in Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon, Ohio

Mount Vernon is a city in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 16,990 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is named after Mount Vernon, the plantation owned by George Washington.-History:...

. He moved to Winona, Minnesota

Winona, Minnesota

Winona is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, in the U.S. State of Minnesota. Located in picturesque bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf....

 for a year and then returned to Mount Vernon. In 1855, he was elected to the Ohio State Senate, and in 1859 he was elected Lieutenant Governor on the Republican ticket, serving one two year term. Three years later, President 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...

 appointed him Minister to the Argentine Republic

United States Ambassador to Argentina

The United States Ambassador to Argentina is the official representative of the President of the United States to the head of state of Argentina....

. He resigned in 1866 and returned to Ohio.

In 1869, President Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

 appointed Kirk to be the Minister to Argentina and Uruguay

United States Ambassador to Uruguay

The following is a list of United States ambassadors, or other chiefs of mission, to Uruguay. The current title given by the United States State Department to this position is Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.-See also:...

. He resigned in 1871. In 1873, Governor Noyes appointed him Commissioner to represent Ohio at the Vienna Exposition

Weltausstellung 1873 Wien

]The Weltausstellung 1873 Wien was the large World exposition was held in 1873 in the Austria–Hungarian capital of Vienna. Its motto was Kultur und Erziehung ....

. In 1875, he was appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for the Thirteenth Ohio District. He later returned to private life in Mount Vernon.