Governor Paris Chipman Dunning

PARIS C. DUNNING, Indiana’s ninth governor, was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, on March 15, 1806. He attended an academy in Greensboro, studied medicine in Kentucky, and then studied law with James Whitcomb in Indiana. Dunning entered politics in 1833, serving as a member to the Indiana House of Representatives, a position he held until 1836. He also was a member to the Indiana State Senate from 1836 to 1840, and served as the lieutenant governor of Indiana from 1846 to 1848. On December 27, 1848, Governor James Whitcomb resigned from office, and Dunning, who was lieutenant governor at the time, assumed the duties of the governorship. During his tenure, he continued to carry out the policies and programs of the Whitcomb administration. After leaving office on December 5, 1849, Dunning returned to his legal practice in Bloomington, retiring from public service until 1860. He then served as a delegate to the 1860 Democratic National Convention, and was a member and president to the Indiana State Senate, serving from 1863 to 1865. Governor Paris C. Dunning died on May 9, 1884, and was buried at the Rose Hill Cemetery in Bloomington, Indiana.