David B. Hill

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American politician (1843–1910)

title: "David B. Hill" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1843-births", "1910-deaths", "governors-of-new-york-(state)", "lieutenant-governors-of-new-york-(state)", "new-york-(state)-city-council-members", "democratic-party-members-of-the-new-york-state-assembly", "people-from-montour-falls,-new-york", "candidates-in-the-1892-united-states-presidential-election", "democratic-party-united-states-senators-from-new-york-(state)", "mayors-of-elmira,-new-york", "adirondack-park", "new-york-(state)-lawyers", "democratic-party-governors-of-new-york-(state)", "19th-century-american-lawyers", "bourbon-democrats", "deaths-from-nephritis", "19th-century-united-states-senators", "19th-century-members-of-the-new-york-state-legislature"] description: "American politician (1843–1910)" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_B._Hill" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American politician (1843–1910) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	David B. Hill
image	David B. Hill (portrait by Morton Bly).png
caption	Gubernatorial portrait of Hill
jr/sr1	United States Senator
state1	New York
term_start1	January 7, 1892
term_end1	March 3, 1897
predecessor1	William M. Evarts
successor1	Thomas C. Platt
order2	29th
office2	Governor of New York
term_start2	January 6, 1885
term_end2	December 31, 1891
lieutenant2	Dennis McCarthy (acting)
Edward F. Jones
predecessor2	Grover Cleveland
successor2	Roswell P. Flower
order3	Lieutenant Governor of New York
term_start3	January 1, 1883
term_end3	January 6, 1885
governor3	Grover Cleveland
predecessor3	George Gilbert Hoskins
successor3	Dennis McCarthy (acting)
office4	Mayor of Elmira, New York
order4	13th
term_start4	March 8, 1882
term_end4	December 27, 1882
predecessor4	Alexander S. Diven
successor4	Stephen T. Arnot
office5	Member of the
New York Assembly
from Chemung County
term_start5	January 1, 1871
term_end5	December 31, 1872
preceded5	Edward L. Patrick
succeeded5	Seymour Dexter
birth_name	David Bennett Hill
birth_date
birth_place	Havana, New York
death_date
death_place	Albany, New York
party	Democratic
profession	Lawyer
signature	Signature of David Bennett Hill (1843–1910).png
::

David Bennett Hill (August 29, 1843October 20, 1910) was an American politician from New York who was the 29th governor of New York from 1885 to 1891 and represented New York in the United States Senate from 1892 to 1897.

In 1892, he made an unsuccessful bid for president on a platform of bimetallism, but lost the nomination to Grover Cleveland, his longtime political rival and former running mate.

Early life and career

David B. Hill was born on August 29, 1843, in Havana, New York. He was educated locally, studied law, and began a practice in Elmira in 1864.

In 1864, he was named Elmira City Attorney.

Hill represented Chemung County in the New York State Assembly in 1871 and 1872. Hill was elected an alderman of Elmira in 1880, Mayor of Elmira in 1882, and was President of the New York State Bar Association from 1886 to 1887.

Governor of New York

Hill was elected lieutenant governor in 1882, with more votes than the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Grover Cleveland.

Hill became governor in 1885, when Cleveland resigned to take office as President of the United States. Hill won election to the office of governor in his own right in 1885 and 1888 despite Cleveland losing the state in the concurrent presidential election.

While Cleveland had publicly advocated for civil service reform, Hill embraced the role of patronage in politics and built up a strong following. During Hill's tenure as governor, the Democratic Party organization in New York polarized between those loyal to Hill and those who favored Cleveland. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/David_B._Hill_in_1885_cartoon_by_Eugene_Zimmerman_about_Mugwumps,_Tammany_Hall_and_Irving_Hall_detail,from-The_Only_Plumber_Busy_In_The_Hot_Season(Zimmerman_cartoon)(cropped).JPG" caption="David B. Hill in 1885 cartoon "The Only Plumber Busy In The Hot Season" by [[Eugene Zimmerman]] about [[Mugwumps]], [[Tammany Hall]] and Irving Hall"] ::

As governor, Hill opposed attempts to enact civil service reform and tax liquor. He supported regulation of tenement housing and labor reforms such as maximum work hours. Several other labor reforms were carried out during Hill's time as governor.

On May 15, 1885, Hill signed "a bill establishing a 'Forest Preserve' of 715,000 acres that was to remain permanently 'as wild forest lands.'" This tract soon became the Adirondack Park.

During his tenure as governor, William Kemmler was executed in the electric chair, the first inmate in the country ever to be put to death in this manner. On April 23, 1889, Hill vetoed a bill from the state legislature that would block the street construction at the Polo Grounds. He also vetoed two attempts at ballot reform by the Republican legislature.

United States Senate

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/JudgeMagazine4Jan1890.jpg" caption="1890 political cartoon featuring Hill and [[Grover Cleveland"] ::

After the 1888 elections, which saw the defeat of Cleveland and the re-election of Hill, Hill established effective control over the state Democratic Party. Democratic gains in the 1890 elections gave the Democratic Party a majority in the legislature. The legislature elected Hill to the U.S. Senate. Hill was meant to take office in the U.S. Senate on March 4, 1891, but declined to resign the governorship so that Roswell P. Flower, a member of his political machine, could take the governorship.

In 1892, Hill sought the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, running as a supporter of bimetallism. At the 1892 Democratic National Convention, Cleveland defeated Hill and Governor of Iowa Horace Boies on the first ballot. Cleveland went on to defeat President Benjamin Harrison in the general election.

As Senator, Hill blocked President Cleveland's two appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court, William B. Hornblower and Wheeler H. Peckham, both New York judges who had opposed Hill's political machine.

In 1894, Hill was defeated by Republican Levi P. Morton when, as a sitting U.S. senator, he ran again for governor again.

In 1896, Hill initially opposed the nomination of William Jennings Bryan for president, but supported Bryan in the general election against the Clevelandite Gold Democrats. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/"From_Judge,January_9,1892_THE_POLITICAL_CRANK_Dave_Hill(to_Grover)-_'Resign_your_pretensions_to_the_Democratic_nomination,or_I_throw_this_bomb."cartoon-(British_Review_of_Reviews,_1892,p_447)(cropped).jpg" caption="Judge]]'', depicting Hill as a threat to Grover Cleveland's presidential ambitions"] ::

In 1897, Hill was defeated for re-election by Republican Thomas C. Platt.

Later career and death

Hill received significant support for the vice presidential nomination at the 1900 Democratic National Convention, but the party nominated former Vice President Adlai Stevenson I. Hill served as the campaign manager of Democratic presidential nominee Alton Parker in the 1904 presidential election.

Hill died at Wolfert's Roost, his country home near Albany on October 20, 1910, from the effects of Bright's Disease and heart disease. He was buried in Montour Cemetery in Mountour Falls.

References

Works cited

References

(July 1960). "JOURNAL ARTICLE DAVID B. HILL AND THE "STEAL OF THE SENATE," 1891". New York History.
(2001). "On This Day". New York Times.
[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ElpFAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA3&dq=The+Republicans+at+Saratoga+organized+labor&article_id=5098,2981903&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwifnK_u7M2MAxXIVUEAHciPJNcQ6AF6BAgFEAM#v=onepage&q=The%20Republicans%20at%20Saratoga%20organized%20labor&f=false The Ithaca Democrat 27 Oct 1898]
Nash, Roderick F. 2001. ''Wilderness and the American Mind,'' 4th ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, p. 119.
William M. Ivins: "On the Electoral System of the State of New York". A paper presented at the twenty-ninth annual meeting of the New York State Bar Association. New York 1906.
"The Democratic Nomination".
(October 21, 1910). "Death Suddenly Calls D.B. Hill". [[The Los Angeles Herald]].

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