Governor Richard Moore Bishop

RICHARD M. BISHOP, the thirty-fourth governor of Ohio, was born in Fleming County, Kentucky on November 4, 1812. His education was limited and attained in the common schools of his native state. He started working in the mercantile industry as a store clerk, and eventually became the owner of his own successful wholesale grocery business in Cincinnati. Bishop first entered politics as a member of the Cincinnati city council, a position he won election to in 1857. He also served as mayor of Cincinnati from 1859 to 1861; and was a delegate to the 1873 Ohio Constitutional Convention. Bishop next secured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination and was elected governor by a popular vote in the 1877 general election. During his tenure, the state’s penal and welfare institutions were restructured; the Bland-Allison Act was sanctioned; and state laws were strengthened. After completing his term, Bishop retired from political life. Governor Richard M. Bishop passed away on March 2, 1893 and was buried in the Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio.