Alexander Ramsey
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Alexander Ramsey
Alexander Ramsey (September 8, 1815 – April 22, 1903) was an American politician. He was born near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Ramsey was elected from Pennsylvania as a Whig to the U.S. House of Representatives and served in the House from March 4, 1843 to March 3, 1847. He served as the first Territorial Governor of Minnesota June 1, 1849 to May 15, 1853 as a member of the Whig Party.
In 1855, he became the mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota. Ramsey was elected the second Governor of Minnesota after statehood and served from January 2, 1860 to July 10, 1863. Ramsey is credited with being the first Union governor to commit troops during the American Civil War (he happened to be in Washington, D.C. when fighting broke out). He resigned the governorship to become a U.S. Senator, having been elected to that post in 1863 as a Republican. He was re-elected in 1869 and served until March 3, 1875.
Ramsey served as Secretary of War from 1879 to 1881, under President Rutherford B. Hayes.
Ramsey County, Minnesota is named for him. The Minnesota Historical Society preserves his home as a museum. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.
| Preceded by: George W. McCrary | United States Secretary of War 1879–1881 | Succeeded by: Robert Todd Lincoln |
| Preceded by: See Iowa Territory | Governor of Minnesota Territory 1849–1853 | Succeeded by: Willis A. Gorman |
| Preceded by: Henry Hastings Sibley | Governor of Minnesota 1860–1863 | Succeeded by: Henry Adoniram Swift |
| Preceded by: Henry Rice | United States Senator from Minnesota 1863–1875 | Succeeded by: Samuel J. R. McMillan |