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A
prosperous businessman and banker, Henry P. Baldwin served two terms as
governor and was the fourth Michigan governor to become a U.S.
senator.
Born
in Rhode Island in 1814, Baldwin was orphaned at the age of 12. Moving
to Detroit in 1838, he founded a successful business and later served as
president of the Second National Bank of Detroit. A Republican, Baldwin
oversaw the construction of a new State Capitol building, and, according
to one historian, “with rare exceptions, the important recommendations
of Governor Baldwin received the sanction of the Legislature.”
After
two terms as governor, Baldwin stepped down. Upon the death of Senator
Zachariah Chandler in 1879, Baldwin was appointed to fill the vacancy.
He failed in a bid to win the U.S. Senate seat in1881.
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