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Augustus Everett Willson (October 13, 1846 – August 24, 1931) was the 36th Governor of Kentucky. Orphaned at the age of twelve, Willson went to live with relatives in New England. This move exposed him to such literary masters as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and James Russell Lowell, who were associates of his older brother, poet Forceythe Willson. He was also afforded the opportunity to attend Harvard University, where he earned an A.B. in 1869 and an A.M. in 1872. After graduation, he secured a position at the law firm of future Supreme Court justice John Marshall Harlan. Willson and Harlan became lifelong friends, and Willson's association with Harlan deepened his support of the Republican Party. A Republican in a primarily Democratic state, Willson suffered several defeats for public office, but was elected governor of Kentucky on his second attempt. Due to his handling of the Black Patch Tobacco Wars and his pardoning of several individuals involved in the assassination of Democratic governor William Goebel, Willson drew the ire of the Democrat-controlled General Assembly. As a result, few of his proposed reforms were considered by the legislature. His term ended in 1911, and in 1914, he made an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Following this defeat, Willson retired to Louisville, where he died in 1931. ==Early life== Augustus Willson was born on October 13, 1846 in Maysville, Kentucky, the second child of Hiram and Ann Colvin (née Ennis) Willson. A year following his birth, his father moved the family to Covington. In 1852, the family moved again, this time to New Albany, Indiana. In 1856, Willson's mother died. Three years later, his father also died, leaving him an orphan at age twelve. He and his younger sister went to live with their grandmother in Allegany County, New York. Willson then moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts to live with his brother Forceythe, a poet of some renown. There, he was exposed to men of letters such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and James Russell Lowell.〔Powell, p. 80〕〔Appleton, p. 141〕 Willson took a preparatory course of study at Alfred Academy in New York.〔 Later, he enrolled for one year at a preparatory school in Cambridge before matriculating to Harvard University in 1865.〔Johnson, p. 636〕 Forceythe became terminally ill during Augustus' sophomore year, and Augustus took a brief hiatus from his studies to care for him.〔''American National Biography''〕 Following Forceythe's death, Augustus resumed his studies, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1869.〔 After graduation, Willson studied at Harvard Law School, receiving a Master of Arts degree in 1872.〔 He also studied in the law firm of Lothrop, Bishop, and Lincoln in Boston.〔 He returned to New Albany in 1870, where he lived with Indiana congressman Michael C. Kerr and was admitted to the bar.〔 In 1874, Kerr wrote a letter of introduction for Willson when he applied for a position in the Louisville law firm of John Marshall Harlan.〔 Harlan described Willson as "one of the brightest young fellows I ever met."〔 The two became lifelong friends, and Willson's association with Harlan deepened his support of the Republican Party.〔 Willson became a junior partner in Harlan's firm, continuing there until Harlan's appointment as a Supreme Court justice in 1877.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Augustus E. Willson」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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