Frederick Walker Pitkin
Frederick Walker Pitkin | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Manchester, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | December 18, 1886 (aged 49) Pueblo, Colorado, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Statesman, lawyer, mining businessman |
| Years active | 1859–1886 |
| Known for | 2nd Governor of Colorado (1879–1883) |
Frederick Walker Pitkin (August 31, 1837 – December 18, 1886) was an American statesman who held the position of Colorado's second Governor from 1879 until 1883. He was affiliated with the Republican Party.
Life and career
Pitkin, born in Manchester, Connecticut, completed his undergraduate studies with honors at Wesleyan University in 1858 and obtained a law degree from Albany Law School in 1859. He subsequently co-founded the Milwaukee-based legal practice Palmer, Hooker, and Pitkin. After falling ill in 1872, he stepped down and traveled to Europe seeking medical care.
Upon his return to the United States in 1874, Pitkin relocated to southwestern Colorado where he resumed practicing law and became involved in mining ventures. Alongside Milton Cline, he co-established the Michael "Micky" Breen fluorine mine situated on Engineer Pass.
Utilizing his connections within the mining sector, Pitkin campaigned for the governorship of Colorado in 1878 and secured the office. His administration confronted major issues such as the railroad conflict between the Atchison, Topeka-Santa Fe and the Denver-Rio Grande railroads. During his term, he authorized the suppression of the Ute uprising at the 1879 Milk Creek Battle (also known as the Meeker Massacre) and imposed martial law amid the 1880 Leadville miners' strike. In 1882, Pitkin made an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the United States Senate.
After completing his gubernatorial service, he established residence in Pueblo, Colorado, where he continued his legal work and maintained mining investments. Pitkin passed away there and was originally interred at Riverside Cemetery in Denver before being reburied at Fairmount Cemetery. He and his spouse Fidelia James were parents to three children: Robert James Pitkin, Florence Pitkin, and George Orrin Pitkin.
Entities named after Pitkin
- Pitkin County, Colorado
- Pitkin, Colorado
- Pitkin Avenue in Saguache, Colorado
- Pitkin Street located in Fort Collins, Colorado
- Pitkin Avenue found in Glenwood Springs, Colorado
- Pitkin Avenue within Grand Junction, Colorado
- Pitkin Avenue situated in Pueblo, Colorado
External links
- 1837 births
- 1886 deaths
- Republican Party governors of Colorado
- Politicians from Pueblo, Colorado
- People from Manchester, Connecticut
- American mining businesspeople
- Colorado lawyers
- Wesleyan University alumni
- Albany Law School alumni
- Burials at Fairmount Cemetery (Denver, Colorado)
- 19th-century Colorado politicians
- 19th-century American lawyers
- 19th-century American businesspeople
- Colorado pioneers