Benjamin Fitzpatrick
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Benjamin Fitzpatrick
Benjamin Fitzpatrick (June 30, 1802 - November 21, 1869) was an American politician, who served as Governor of Alabama and as United States Senator from Alabama as a Democrat.
Born in Greene County, Georgia, Fitzpatrick was orphaned and was taken by his brother to Alabama in 1815.
Fitzpatrick studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1821, commencing practice in Montgomery, Alabama. Fitzpatrick served as solicitor of the Montgomery circuit from 1822 to 1823, but moved to his plantation in Autauga County in 1829 and engaged in planting.
Fitzpatrick became Governor of Alabama in 1841, serving until 1845, and was appointed as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Dixon H. Lewis and served from November 25, 1848, to November 30, 1849, when a successor was elected.
He was again appointed and subsequently elected to the Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William R. King (who had been elected Vice President of the United States) and served from January 14, 1853, to March 3, 1855. He served in this Congress as Chairman of the Committee on Printing and the Committee on Engrossed Bills. He was elected to the Senate again to fill the vacancy caused by the failure of the legislature to elect his own successor on November 26, 1855. In this role he served several times as President pro tempore of the Senate.
In 1860, Fitzpatrick was nominated for vice president of the United States by the wing of the Democratic Party that had nominated Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois for President, but refused the nomination, and ultimately Herschel V. Johnson of Georgia was nominated in his stead. Fitzpatrick withdrew from the Senate on January 21, 1861, following the secession of his home state.
Fitzpatrick did not take a particularly active role in the politics of the Confederacy, but did serve as president of the constitutional convention of Alabama in 1865. He died on his plantation near Wetumpka, Alabama, on November 21, 1869.
| Preceded by: Arthur P. Bagby | Governor of Alabama 1841–1845 | Succeeded by: Joshua L. Martin |
| Preceded by: (first term) Dixon Hall Lewis | U.S. Senator from Alabama Class 2: 1848–1849 Class 3: 1852–1861 | Succeeded by: (first term) Jeremiah Clemens |
| Preceded by: (second term) William R. King | Succeeded by: (second term) George E. Spencer following the Civil War |