James Turner Morehead (24 May 1797 – 28 December 1854) was Governor of Kentucky (NR) from 21 February 1834 to 30 August 1836 (succeeding John Breathitt and preceding James Clark) and a US Senator (W) from 4 March 1841 to 3 March 1847 (succeeding John J. Crittenden and preceding Joseph R. Underwood).
Biography[]
James Turner Morehead was born in Shepherdsville, Bullitt County, Kentucky in 1797, and he became a lawyer in Bowling Green in 1818. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1828 to 1831, as Lieutenant Governor from 1832 to 1836, Governor of Kentucky from 1834 to 1836, and in the US Senate from 1841 to 1847. He oversaw internal improvements during his short term as Governor, and he hosted the Whigs' first nominating convention in Frankfort. He was a close ally of Henry Clay, and he opposed abolitionism. He died in 1854.