Benjamin Hardin
American politician (1784–1852)
title: "Benjamin Hardin" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1784-births", "1852-deaths", "politicians-from-westmoreland-county,-pennsylvania", "hardin-family-(kentucky)", "american-people-of-french-descent", "democratic-republican-party-united-states-representatives-from-kentucky", "national-republican-party-united-states-representatives-from-kentucky", "secretaries-of-state-of-kentucky", "members-of-the-kentucky-house-of-representatives", "kentucky-state-senators", "kentucky-lawyers", "united-states-representatives-who-owned-slaves", "19th-century-united-states-representatives", "19th-century-members-of-the-kentucky-general-assembly", "slave-owners-from-kentucky"] description: "American politician (1784–1852)" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Hardin" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American politician (1784–1852) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox Officeholder"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Benjamin Hardin |
| image | Benjamin Hardin.jpg |
| alt | A man with wispy, black hair and a prominent nose wearing a dark jacket, light tie and vest, and high-collared white shirt |
| office | 27th Secretary of State of Kentucky |
| term_start | September 4, 1844 |
| term_end | September 6, 1848 |
| governor | William Owsley |
| predecessor | James Harlan |
| successor | George B. Kinkead |
| state2 | Kentucky |
| district2 | 7th |
| term_start2 | March 4, 1833 |
| term_end2 | March 3, 1837 |
| predecessor2 | John Adair |
| successor2 | John Pope |
| state3 | Kentucky |
| district3 | 10th |
| term_start3 | March 4, 1815March 4, 1817 |
| March 4, 1819 | |
| term_end3 | March 3, 1823 |
| predecessor3 | William Pope Duval |
| Thomas Speed | |
| successor3 | Thomas Speed |
| Francis Johnson | |
| office4 | Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives |
| term4 | 1828–1832 |
| office5 | Member of the Kentucky Senate |
| term5 | 1810–1811 |
| 1824–1825 | |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, US |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Bardstown, Kentucky, US |
| party | Democratic-Republican |
| National Republican | |
| relations | Father-in-law of John L. Helm |
| Cousin of Martin Davis Hardin | |
| Cousin of Charles A. Wickliffe | |
| profession | Lawyer |
| signature | Benjamin Hardin sig.jpg |
| signature_alt | Ben Hardin |
| :: |
|honorific-prefix = |name = Benjamin Hardin |honorific-suffix = |image = Benjamin Hardin.jpg |alt = A man with wispy, black hair and a prominent nose wearing a dark jacket, light tie and vest, and high-collared white shirt |order = |office = 27th Secretary of State of Kentucky |term_start = September 4, 1844 |term_end = September 6, 1848 |governor = William Owsley |predecessor = James Harlan |successor = George B. Kinkead |state2 = Kentucky |district2 = 7th |term_start2 = March 4, 1833 |term_end2 = March 3, 1837 |predecessor2 = John Adair |successor2 = John Pope |state3 = Kentucky |district3 = 10th |term_start3 = March 4, 1815March 4, 1817 March 4, 1819 |term_end3 = March 3, 1823 |predecessor3 = William Pope Duval Thomas Speed |successor3 = Thomas Speed Francis Johnson |office4 = Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives |term4 = 1828–1832 |office5 = Member of the Kentucky Senate |term5 = 1810–1811 1824–1825 |birth_date = |birth_place = Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, US |death_date = |death_place = Bardstown, Kentucky, US |birthname = |nationality = |party = Democratic-Republican National Republican |spouse = |relations = Father-in-law of John L. Helm Cousin of Martin Davis Hardin Cousin of Charles A. Wickliffe |children = |residence = |alma_mater = |profession = Lawyer |religion = |signature = Benjamin Hardin sig.jpg |signature_alt = Ben Hardin |footnotes =
Benjamin Hardin (February 29, 1784 – September 24, 1852) was an American politician who was a United States representative from Kentucky. Martin Davis Hardin was his cousin.
Biography
Hardin was born at the Georges Creek settlement on the Monongahela River, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania and then moved with his parents to Washington County, Kentucky in 1788. He attended the schools of Nelson and Washington Counties, Kentucky before studying law. Admitted to the bar in 1806, he commenced practice in Elizabethtown and Bardstown, Nelson County, Kentucky, and then settled in Bardstown, Kentucky in 1808. He owned slaves.
Hardin was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1810, 1811, 1824, and 1825 and served in the Kentucky Senate 1828–1832. He was elected as a Republican to the Fourteenth Congress (March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1817) and reelected as a Republican to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Congresses (March 4, 1819 – March 3, 1823). He was elected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Congresses (March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837).
After leaving Congress, Hardin served as the Secretary of State of Kentucky 1844–1847. He served as a member of the Kentucky constitutional convention in 1849.
Death and interment
Hardin died in Bardstown, Kentucky in 1852 and was buried in the family burying ground near Springfield, Kentucky.
References
| state=Kentucky | district=10 | before=William Pope Duval | after=Thomas Speed | years=1815-1817}} | state=Kentucky | district=10 | before=Thomas Speed | after=Francis Johnson | years=1819-1823}} | state=Kentucky | district=7 | before=John Adair | after=John Pope | years=1833-1837}}
References
- (2022-01-19). "Congress slaveowners". The Washington Post.
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