John Wesley Davis

Categories

19th-century United States representatives

1799 births

19th-century American diplomats

Ambassadors of the United States to China

Speakers of the United States House of Representatives

1859 deaths

Democratic Party members of the Indiana House of Representatives

19th-century members of the Indiana General Assembly

Democratic Party United States representatives from Indiana

Democratic Party Indiana state senators

University of Maryland School of Medicine alumni

Speakers of the Indiana House of Representatives

Governors of Oregon Territory

Jacksonian United States representatives from Indiana

People from New Holland, Pennsylvania

People from Shippensburg, Pennsylvania

People from Sullivan County, Indiana

John Wesley Davis (April 16, 1799 – August 22, 1859) was an American medical doctor and Democratic politician, active in the mid-1800s. He is best known for serving as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Governor of the Oregon Territory, and as a four-time member of the Indiana state legislature.

Early life and education

Davis was born in New Holland, Pennsylvania, on April 16, 1799, and later moved to Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, with his parents. Davis graduated from Baltimore Medical College in 1821, then moved to Carlisle, Indiana, in 1823 and practiced medicine there.

Political career

State politics

Davis started his political career as an unsuccessful candidate for the Indiana Senate in 1828. He instead became a state court judge in Indiana from 1829 to 1831. He was elected a member of the Indiana House of Representatives four times, serving terms beginning in 1831, 1841, 1851, and 1857.