John P. Kennedy

John P. Kennedy
21st United States Secretary of the Navy
In office
July 26, 1852 – March 4, 1853
PresidentMillard Fillmore
Preceded byWilliam Graham
Succeeded byJames C. Dobbin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maryland's 4th district
In office
March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1845
Preceded bySolomon Hillen Jr.
Succeeded byWilliam Fell Giles
In office
April 25, 1838 – March 3, 1839
Preceded byIsaac McKim
Succeeded bySolomon Hillen Jr.
Personal details
Born
John Pendleton Kennedy

(1795-10-25)October 25, 1795
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
DiedAugust 18, 1870(1870-08-18) (aged 74)
Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.
Political partyWhig
Spouse(s)Elizabeth Gray
Margaret Hughes
EducationBaltimore College (BA)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Battles/warsWar of 1812

John Pendleton Kennedy (October 25, 1795 – August 18, 1870) was an American novelist, lawyer and Whig politician who served as United States Secretary of the Navy from July 26, 1852, to March 4, 1853, during the administration of President Millard Fillmore, and as a U.S. Representative from Maryland's 4th congressional district, during which he encouraged the United States government's study, adoption and implementation of the telegraph. A lawyer who became a lobbyist for and director of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Kennedy also served several terms in the Maryland General Assembly and became its Speaker in 1847.

Kennedy later helped lead the effort to end slavery in Maryland,[1] which, as a non-Confederate state, was not affected by the Emancipation Proclamation and required a state law to free slaves within its borders and to outlaw the furtherance of the practice.[1]

Kennedy also advocated religious tolerance, and furthered studies of Maryland history. He helped preserve or found Historic St. Mary's City (site of the colonial founding of Maryland and the birthplace of religious freedom in America), St. Mary's College of Maryland (then St. Mary's Female seminary), the Peabody Library (now a part of Johns Hopkins University) and the Peabody Conservatory of Music (also now a part of Johns Hopkins).

  1. ^ a b "Immediate emancipation in Maryland. Proceedings of the Union State Central Committee, at a meeting held in Temperance Temple, Baltimore, Wednesday, December 16, 1863", 24 pages, Publisher: Cornell University Library (January 1, 1863), ISBN 1429753242, ISBN 978-1429753241