Philip Francis Thomas

Philip F. Thomas
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland
In office March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877
Preceded by	Ephraim King Wilson II
Succeeded by	Daniel Henry
Constituency	1st district
In office March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1841
Preceded by	James Pearce
Succeeded by	James Pearce
Constituency	2nd district
23rd United States Secretary of the Treasury
In office December 12, 1860 – January 14, 1861
President	James Buchanan
Preceded by	Howell Cobb
Succeeded by	John Adams Dix
1st Comptroller of Maryland
In office 1851–1853
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Henry E. Bateman
28th Governor of Maryland
In office January 3, 1848 – January 6, 1851
Preceded by	Thomas Pratt
Succeeded by	Enoch Louis Lowe
Personal details
Born	Philip Francis Thomas (1810-09-12)September 12, 1810 Easton, Maryland, U.S.
Died	October 2, 1890(1890-10-02) (aged 80) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Resting place	Spring Hill Cemetery Easton, Maryland, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Sarah Kerr Clintonia Wright May
Education	Dickinson College (BA)

Philip Francis Thomas (September 12, 1810 – October 2, 1890) was an American lawyer, mathematician^[1] and politician. He served in the Maryland House of Delegates, was the 28th Governor of Maryland from 1848 to 1851, and was Comptroller of Maryland from 1851 to 1853. He was appointed as the 23rd United States Secretary of the Treasury in 1860 in the Buchanan administration. After unsuccessfully standing for the United States Senate in 1878, he returned to the Maryland House of Delegates, and later resumed the practice of law.

Thomas was also elected twice to the United States House of Representatives, once in 1838 and again in 1874. He holds the all-time record for the longest break in between two terms of service in Congress, with 34 years separating his only two terms.^[2][3]