Jesse David Bright (18 December 1812 – 20 May 1875) was a US Senator from Indiana (D) from 4 March 1845 to 5 February 1862, succeeding Albert S. White and preceding Joseph A. Wright.
Biography[]
Jesse David Bright was born in Norwich, New York in 1812 to German immigrants, and he moved to Madison, Indiana with his parents in 1820. He became a lawyer in 1831, and he served as a probate court judge, a US Marshal, and a member of the state legislature before serving as Lieutenant Governor from 1843 to 1845 and being elected to the US Senate in 1844 as a Democrat. In 1862, he was expelled from the Senate for recognizing Jefferson Davis as President of the Confederacy and for facilitating arms sales. As of 2017, he was the last senator to be expelled, and he served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1867 to 1871 and as president of the Raymond City Coal Company from 1871 to 1875. He died in 1875.