Allen G. Thurman

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Allen G. Thurman
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
In office April 15, 1879 – December 5, 1880
Preceded by	Thomas W. Ferry
Succeeded by	Thomas F. Bayard
United States Senator from Ohio
In office March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1881
Preceded by	Benjamin Wade
Succeeded by	John Sherman
Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court
In office December 4, 1854 – February 9, 1856
Preceded by	John A. Corwin
Succeeded by	Thomas W. Bartley
Associate Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court
In office February 9, 1852 – December 4, 1854
Preceded by	Peter Hitchcock
Succeeded by	Charles Convers
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 8th district
In office March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847
Preceded by	John I. Vanmeter
Succeeded by	John L. Taylor
Personal details
Born	Allen Granberry Thurman (1813-11-13)November 13, 1813 Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S.
Died	December 12, 1895(1895-12-12) (aged 82) Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Resting place	Green Lawn Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Mary Dun Tompkins ​ ​ (m. 1844; died 1891)​
Children	5, including Allen W.

Allen Granberry Thurman (November 13, 1813 – December 12, 1895), sometimes erroneously spelled Allan Granberry Thurman, was an American politician who served as a United States representative, Ohio Supreme Court justice, and United States senator. A Democrat, he unsuccessfully ran for vice president of the United States in 1888 as the running mate of President Grover Cleveland.

Born in Lynchburg, Virginia, he and his family moved to Chillicothe, Ohio, when Thurman was young. Thurman established a legal practice in Chillicothe with his uncle, William Allen, who later represented Ohio in the U.S. Senate. Thurman won election to the House of Representatives in 1844,^[1] becoming the youngest member of that body. He supported the James K. Polk administration during the Mexican–American War and voted for the Wilmot Proviso, which would have banned slavery from any territory gained from Mexico. He served a single term in the House before joining the Supreme Court of Ohio.^{[citation needed]} He narrowly lost the 1867 Ohio gubernatorial election to Rutherford B. Hayes. He won election to the Senate in 1869, becoming an opponent to the Republican Reconstruction policy. He actively campaigned against African-American voting rights and worked to reverse the civil rights advances of Reconstruction.^{[2][citation needed]} He offered an amendment to continue to segregate public schools in the District of Columbia.^[3][4] During the disputed 1876 presidential election, Thurman helped establish the Electoral Commission. Thurman lost re-election in 1881 as the Republicans had won control of the Ohio legislature.^[5]

Thurman was a "favorite son" candidate for president in 1880 and 1884. The 1888 Democratic National Convention selected him as President Grover Cleveland's running mate, as Vice President Thomas A. Hendricks had died in office. The aging Thurman did not actively campaign and the Democratic ticket was defeated.