Cullom, Shelby

M., a lawyer and statesman of the Republican party, was born in Wayne co., Kentucky, Nov. 22, 1829; studied law and began its practice at Springfield, Ill., in 1848; was elected to the State Legislature in 1856 and again in 1860, when he became its Speaker; was member of the War Commi ion at Cairo, Ill., in 1862; in Congre from Dec. 1865 to March, 1871; again in the State Legislature, 1872-74, and Speaker in 1873; became governor of Illinois in 1877, and again in 1881, but resigned on Feb. 6, 1883, to succeed David Davis in the U. S. Senate, where he still remains (1897) his present term expiring in 1901. Mr. C. may be regarded as the father of the Interstate Commerce Laws, and has been a prominent figure in national politics for many years. In 1892 and again in 1896, his name was freely mentioned in connection with the Republican presidential nomination. In personal appearance and habits he is thought to resemble Abraham Lincoln.