George H. Proffit

United States politician from Indiana (1807–1847)


title: "George H. Proffit" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1807-births", "1847-deaths", "politicians-from-new-orleans", "ambassadors-of-the-united-states-to-brazil", "members-of-the-indiana-house-of-representatives", "19th-century-american-diplomats", "whig-party-united-states-representatives-from-indiana", "people-from-petersburg,-indiana", "19th-century-united-states-representatives"] description: "United States politician from Indiana (1807–1847)" topic_path: "people/1800s" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H._Proffit" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary United States politician from Indiana (1807–1847) ::

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

FieldValue
nameGeorge Proffit
officeUnited States Ambassador to Brazil
presidentJohn Tyler
term_startDecember 11, 1843
term_endAugust 10, 1844
predecessorWilliam Hunter
successorHenry A. Wise
state1Indiana
district1
term_start1March 4, 1839
term_end1March 3, 1843
predecessor1Ratliff Boon
successor1Robert D. Owen
birth_date
birth_placeNew Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
death_date
death_placeLouisville, Kentucky, U.S
resting_placeWalnut Hill Cemetery
partyWhig
::

|name = George Proffit |image = |office = United States Ambassador to Brazil |president = John Tyler |term_start = December 11, 1843 |term_end = August 10, 1844 |predecessor = William Hunter |successor = Henry A. Wise |state1 = Indiana |district1 = |term_start1 = March 4, 1839 |term_end1 = March 3, 1843 |predecessor1 = Ratliff Boon |successor1 = Robert D. Owen |birth_date = |birth_place = New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |death_date = |death_place = Louisville, Kentucky, U.S |resting_place = Walnut Hill Cemetery |party = Whig |otherparty = |education = |profession = |spouse = |residence = George H. Proffit (September 4, 1807 – September 7, 1847) was an American lawyer who served two terms as a U.S. representative from Indiana from 1839 to 1843.

Biography

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Proffit completed preparatory studies. He moved to Petersburg, Indiana, in 1828. He engaged in mercantile pursuits in Petersburg and Portersville, Indiana. He studied law. He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Petersburg, Indiana.

State House

He served as member of the State house of representatives in 1831, 1832, and 1836–1838.

Congress

Proffit was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1843). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1842.

Later career

He was appointed by President Tyler as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Brazil and served from June 7, 1843, to August 10, 1844, when he returned home, the Senate having refused to confirm his appointment.

Death and burial

He died in Louisville, Kentucky, September 7, 1847, and was interred in Walnut Hill Cemetery (Petersburg, Indiana).

References

| state = Indiana | district = 1 | before = Ratliff Boon | after = Robert D. Owen | years = March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1843 | title = United States Minister to Brazil | before = William Hunter | after = Henry A. Wise | years = 11 December 1843 – 10 August 1844

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

1807-births1847-deathspoliticians-from-new-orleansambassadors-of-the-united-states-to-brazilmembers-of-the-indiana-house-of-representatives19th-century-american-diplomatswhig-party-united-states-representatives-from-indianapeople-from-petersburg,-indiana19th-century-united-states-representatives