Claude Matthews | |
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| 23rd Governor of Indiana | |
| In office January 9, 1893 – January 11, 1897 | |
| Lieutenant | Mortimer Nye |
| Preceded by | Ira Joy Chase |
| Succeeded by | James A. Mount |
| 25th Secretary of State of Indiana | |
| In office January 16, 1891 – January 9, 1893 | |
| Governor | Ira Joy Chase |
| Preceded by | Charles F. Griffin |
| Succeeded by | Myron D. King |
| Member of the Indiana House of Representatives | |
| In office 1876–1878 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 14, 1845 Bethel, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | August 28, 1898 (aged 52) Vermillion County, Indiana, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Martha Renick Whitcomb |
| Signature |  |
Claude Matthews (December 14, 1845 – August 28, 1898) was an American politician who served as the 23rd governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from 1893 to 1897. A farmer, he was nominated to prevent the loss of voters to the Populist Party. The Panic of 1893 occurred just before he took office, leading to severe economic problems during his term. Republicans took the Indiana General Assembly in the 1894 mid-term election and repudiated many of the Democrats' laws, leading to violence in the assembly. A popular party figure when he left office, he was a nominee to run for president at the 1896 Democratic National Convention, but lost his bid for the nomination to William Jennings Bryan.