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Benton, Thomas Hart

statesman, author, was born March 14, 1782, in Hillsborough, N. C. He is an eminent statesman who represented Missouri in the United States senate for thirty years; removed to Tennessee; became an attorney; was elected for one term to the Kentucky legislature; served with his regiment in the war of 1812; began law practice at St.

Louis, Mo., in 1813; established the Missouri Inquirer; killed an opponent in a duel; was elected U. S. senator from Missouri in 1820, and was continuously re-elected for thirty years; was elected member of congress in 1852.

His political writing is notable for its simple, direct style and absence of invective. He is the author of Speeches; Thirty Years' View; History of the Workings of Congress, 1820-50; and Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, 1789- 1856. He died April 10, 1858, in Washington, D. C.