Notable people · Politician · Journalist
Edmund G. Ross
Born in Ashland, Ohio, Ross became a Kansas senator whose 1868 vote against convicting President Andrew Johnson decided the impeachment trial by a single vote. He later governed New Mexico Territory.
At a glance
- Born
- 1826-12-07
- Died
- 1907-05-08
- Known as
- Politician, Journalist
- Organizations
- US Senate
Life story
Edmund Ross was born in Ashland, Ohio, in 1826, the third of fourteen children. At eleven he started as a printer's apprentice in Huron, Ohio, and he worked on newspapers in several states before settling in Kansas as an antislavery man.
In 1854 he helped free Joshua Glover, an escaped slave, from a Milwaukee jail. He served as a major in the 11th Kansas Cavalry in the Civil War and became a U.S. senator in 1866.
In 1868 he was the seventh Republican to break with his party and vote against convicting Andrew Johnson, which made the vote 35 to 19, one short of conviction. John F. Kennedy included him in Profiles in Courage in 1956. He later served as governor of New Mexico Territory, wrote a history of the impeachment in 1896 and died in Albuquerque in 1907.
Timeline
- 1826-12-07: Born (Ashland, OH) source
- 1837: Apprenticed as a printer (Huron, OH) source
- 1854: Takes part in freeing Joshua Glover (Milwaukee, WI) source
- 1862: Joins 11th Kansas Cavalry (Kansas) source
- 1866: Becomes US senator from Kansas (Washington, DC) source
- 1868: Votes to acquit Andrew Johnson (Washington, DC) source
- 1885: Becomes governor of New Mexico Territory (Santa Fe, NM) source
- 1896: Publishes History of the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson source
- 1907-05-08: Dies (Albuquerque, NM) source
What Edmund is known for
- Deciding vote to acquit Andrew Johnson, 1868
- Governor of New Mexico Territory, 1885-1889
- History of the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson (1896)
Honors and things named for them
- Profiled in John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage (1956)
Ohio places
Where Edmund G. Ross was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Born: Ashland, Ashland County ZIP 44805 · Ashland · Ashland County
- Worked: Huron, Erie County ZIP 44839 · Huron · Erie County
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
- Wikipedia: Edmund G. Ross dates, career, impeachment vote, Profiles in Courage