Thomas H. Seymour

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For other persons named Thomas Seymour, see Thomas Seymour (disambiguation).
Thomas Hart Seymour
Thomas H. Seymour
In office
May 4, 1850 – October 13, 1853
Lieutenant Charles H. Pond (1850-1851)
Green Kendrick (1851-1852)
Charles H. Pond (1852-1853)
Preceded by Joseph Trumbull
Succeeded by Charles H. Pond
Born September 29, 1807
Hartford, Connecticut
Died September 3, 1868 (aged 60)
Hartford, Connecticut
Political party Democratic
Profession Politician, Lawyer

Thomas Hart Seymour (September 29, 1807 – September 3, 1868) was a Democratic politician and lawyer from Connecticut. He served as Governor of Connecticut from 1850 to 1853 and as Minister to Russia from 1853 to 1858.

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Seymour public schools as a child and graduated from Middletown Military Academy in Middletown, Connecticut in 1829. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1833, commencing practice in Hartford. He was editor of the Jeffersonian from 1837 to 1838 and was a judge of probate from 1836 to 1838. In 1842, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served one term, declining reelection in 1844.

During the Mexican-American War, Seymour was commissioned as a major in the Connecticut Infantry on March 16, 1846, later recommissioned to the new 9th United States Infantry on April 9, 1847 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the 12th Infantry under Colonel Milledge L. Bonham on August 12, 1847. After the war, he made an unsuccessful run for Governor of Connecticut in 1849, but was chosen the next year in 1850.

Shortly after being reelected to a fourth term in 1853, Seymour resigned from the governorship to accept the commission of Minister to Russia from President Franklin Pierce. He served in this position until 1858 when President James Buchanan replaced him with Francis W. Pickens. He made two unsuccessful attempts to return to the governorship in 1860 and 1863 and unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for President of the United States at the 1864 Democratic National Convention, losing to Civil War General George B. McClellan.

Seymour died in Hartford, Connecticut on September 3, 1868 and was interned in Cedar Hill Cemetery.

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Preceded by
(Districts created)		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Connecticut's 1st congressional district
March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845		 Succeeded by
James Dixon
Preceded by
Joseph Trumbull		 Governor of Connecticut
May 4, 1850 – October 13, 1853		 Succeeded by
Charles H. Pond
Preceded by
Neill S. Brown		 United States Ambassador to Russia
May 24, 1853 – July 17, 1858		 Succeeded by
Francis W. Pickens
v • d • e
Governors of Connecticut
Trumbull, Sr. • M. Griswold • Huntington • Wolcott, Sr. • Trumbull, Jr. • Treadwall • R. Griswold • Smith • Wolcott, Jr. • Tomlinson • Peters • Edwards • Foot • Edwards • Ellsworth • Cleveland • R.S. Baldwin • Toucey • Bissell • J. Trumbull • Seymour • Pond • Dutton • Minor • Holley • Buckingham • Hawley • English • Jewell • English • Jewell • Ingersoll • Hubbard • Andrews • Bigelow • Waller • Harrison • P. Lounsbury • Bulkeley • Morris • Coffin • Cooke • G. Lounsbury • McLean • Chamberlain • Roberts • Woodruff • Lilley • Weeks • S. Baldwin • Holcomb • Lake • Templeton • Bingham • J.H. Trumbull • Cross • R.E. Baldwin • Hurley • R.E. Baldwin • Snow • McConaughy • Shannon • Bowles • Lodge • Ribicoff • Dempsey • Meskill • Grasso • O'Neill • Weicker • Rowland • Rell