DeWitt Clinton

DeWitt Clinton by Rembrandt Peale

DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769 – February 11, 1828) was an early American politician and statesman.

Clinton was born in Little Britain, New York. He was married to Maria Franklin. They had ten children, but only three survived. Clinton then married Catharine Jones from 1819 to his death. His son, George William Clinton, served as mayor of Buffalo, New York.

He graduated in law from Columbia University in 1790. From 1790 to 1795, he served as private secretary to his uncle, George Clinton.

He served in the New York State Legislature (1797–1798) and the New York Senate (1798–1802), the US Senate (1802–1803), and ten terms as mayor of New York City (1803–1815). As mayor, he promoted public education, city planning, public sanitation, and relief for the poor.

Clinton also held office as state senator (1806–1811) and lieutenant governor (1811–1813). From 1810 to 1824, he served as New York Canal Commissioner. In 1812, he lost the race for President of the United States to James Madison. He was the seventh of New York State from 1817 to 1823 and the ninth governor from 1825 to 1829.

He supported a plan to build a canal through Upstate New York to connect the East with the Midwest. He became such a strong supporter of the New York plan that his opponents called it "Clinton's Ditch." He is sometimes known as the "Father of the Erie Canal."

Clinton died from heart failure in Albany, New York, aged 58.

References

• DeWitt Clinton
• New Netherland Institute: DeWitt Clinton