King, Horatio

Life Span
to
Dickinson Connection
Father of Horatio Collins King, class of 1858
    Full name
    Horatio King
    Place of Birth
    Gender
    Male
    Race
    White
    Origins
    Free State
    Occupation
    Politician
    Attorney or Judge
    Political Parties
    Democratic
    Government
    Buchanan Administration (1857-61)

    Horatio King (Encyclopedia America)

    Reference
    KING, Horatio, American statesman: b. Paris, Me., 21 June 1811; d. Washington, D. C, 20 May 1897. He learned the printer's trade and published The Jeffersonian in his native town, and subsequently in Portland, 1831-38. The next year he was appointed clerk in the Post Office Department in Washington; became First Assistant Postmaster-General in 1854; was Postmaster-General January- March 1861; and was the first man in public office to deny the power of a State to withdraw from the Union. He published 'An Oration before the Union Literary Society of Washington' (1841); 'Sketches of Travel; or Twelve Months in Europe' (1878).
    “King, Horatio,” The Encyclopedia America: A Library of Universal Knowledge (New York: The Encyclopedia Americana Corp., 1919), 16: 431.

    Horatio King (Poetry and Literary Review)

    Reference
    HORATIO KING was born in Paris, Oxford county, Me., on June 21, 1811.  His grandfather, George King, fought in the war of the Revolution.  Horatio received a common school education, and at the age of eighteen entered the office of the Paris Jeffersonian, where he learned printing, afterward becoming owner and editor of the paper.  In 1833 he moved to Portland, where he continued to publish his paper until 1838. In November of that year he went to Washington, D. C., and in March, 1839, was appointed a clerk in the Post-office Department, and was gradually promoted.  In 1854 he was appointed First Assistant Postmaster-General, and in 1861, as Acting Postmaster-General, he was questioned by a member of Congress from South Carolina with regard to the franking privilege.  In his reply Mr. King was the first officially to deny the power of a State to separate from the Union.  He was then appointed Postmaster-General, serving until March 7, 1861.  After his retirement from office, Mr. King practiced in Washington as an attorney before the Executive Departments and International Commissions, until about 1880, when he gave up all active business.  He has been a frequent contributor to the press, and has published "An Oration before the Union Literary Society of Washington," (Washington, D. C., 1841), and "Sketches of Travel, or Twelve Months in Europe," (1878).
    Dudley Irving, “King, Horatio,” The Magazine of Poetry and Literary Review 7 (January-December, 1895): 79.
    Chicago Style Entry Link
    King, Horatio. “Buchanan’s Loyalty.” Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine 23 (December 1881): 289-297. view record
    King, Horatio. “James Buchanan.” The Galaxy: A Magazine of Entertaining Reading 10 (October 1870): 474-482. view record
    King, Horatio. “President Buchanan.” Magazine of American History 14 (July 1885): 98-100. view record
    King, Horatio. "President Buchanan Vindicated." Magazine of American History 9 (1883): 345-364. view record
    How to Cite This Page: "King, Horatio," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/index.php/node/11908.