P. B. S. Pinchback

P. B. S. Pinchback
24th Governor of Louisiana
In office December 9, 1872 – January 13, 1873
Preceded by	Henry C. Warmoth
Succeeded by	John McEnery
12th Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana
In office December 6, 1871[1] – January 13, 1873
Governor	Henry C. Warmoth
Preceded by	Oscar Dunn
Succeeded by	Davidson Penn
Personal details
Born	Pinckney Benton Stewart (1837-05-10)May 10, 1837 Macon, Georgia, U.S.
Died	December 21, 1921(1921-12-21) (aged 84) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Emily Hawthorne
Children	6
Education	Straight University (LLB)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army (Union Army)
Years of service	1862–63
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	American Civil War

Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback (May 10, 1837 – December 21, 1921) was an American publisher, politician, and Union Army officer who served as Governor of Louisiana from December 9, 1872 to January 13, 1873. Pinchback was the first African-American governor and the second lieutenant governor (after Oscar Dunn) in the United States. A Republican, Pinchback served as acting governor of Louisiana for 35 days, during which ten acts of Legislature became law. He was one of the most prominent office holders during and following the Reconstruction Era.

Pinchback was born in Macon, Georgia, to Eliza Stewart and William Pinchback, a white planter. His father raised the younger Pinchback and his siblings as his own children on his large plantation in Mississippi. After the death of his father in 1848, his mother took Pinchback and siblings to the free state of Ohio to ensure their continued freedom. After the start of the American Civil War, Pinchback traveled to Union-occupied New Orleans. There he raised several companies for the 1st Louisiana Native Guard, and became one of the few commissioned as officers in the Union Army.

Pinchback remained in New Orleans after the Civil War, becoming active in Republican politics. He won election to the Louisiana State Senate in 1868 and became the president pro tempore of the state senate. He became the acting Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana following the death of Oscar Dunn in 1871 and briefly served as acting governor of Louisiana after Henry C. Warmoth was impeached. After the contested 1872 Louisiana gubernatorial election, Republican legislators elected Pinchback to the United States Senate. Due to the controversy over the 1872 elections in the state, which were challenged by white Democrats, Pinchback never seated in Congress.

Pinchback served as a delegate to the 1879 Louisiana constitutional convention, where he helped gain support for the founding of Southern University. In a Republican federal appointment, he served as the surveyor of U.S. customs of New Orleans from 1882 to 1885. Later he worked with other leading men to challenge the segregation of Louisiana's public transportation system, leading to the Supreme Court case of Plessy v. Ferguson.^{[citation needed]} To escape increasing racial oppression, he moved with his family to Washington, D.C., in 1892, where they were among the elite people. He died there in 1921.