American politician and the twentieth Governor of Illinois
1847 CE
to 1902 CE
John Peter Altgeld (December 30, 1847 – March 12, 1902) is an American politician and the twentieth Governor of Illinois, serving from 1893 until 1897.
He is the first Democrat to govern that state since the 1850s.
A leading figure of the Progressive movement, Altgeld signd workplace safety and child labor laws, pardod three of the men convicted in the Haymarket Affair, and rejectd calls in 1894 to break up the Pullman strike by force
In 1896 he is a leader of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, opposing President Grover Cleveland and the conservative Bourbon Democrats.
He is defeated for reelection in 1896 in an intensely fought, bitter campaign.
Born in Germany, Altgeld grows up on a farm in the American Midwest.
After a stint in the Union Army as a youth, Altgeld studies law in Missouri, while working as a manual laborer, and becomes involved in progressive politics.
Altgeld eventually opens a law practice in Chicago, and becomes a real estate developer, and local judge before being elected governor.
He is married to Emma Ford.
Often in poor health, he dies at the age of fifty-four, while working in the law office of Clarence Darrow.
