Governor Latham

On the wall of the landing area for the Capitol’s south side stairwell between the first and basement floors hangs the portrait of former governor Milton S. Latham. Generally speaking it’s a standard portrait; a distinguished and serious man, posing for posterity. Only in the detail of how long Latham served in office does his portrait become unique. He was governor a mere five days, January 9, 1860 to January 14, 1860. So what happened? Fortunately, the California State Library maintains “The Governors’ Gallery” webpage, a treasure trove of information on the lives and careers of all our chief executives. Turns out that David Broderick, who was one of California’s US Senators, was killed in a duel by ex-California Supreme Court Chief Justice David Terry. Broderick was an abolitionist whereas Terry was pro-slavery and the two settled their differences near Lake Merced in San Francisco. Before the Constitution’s 17th amendment was ratified in 1913, legislatures chose the state’s US Senator. The legislature chose Latham to replace Broderick and that is how Latham earned the distinction of being the California governor who served the shortest time in office. In case you were wondering, governors now appoint U. S. Senators to fill unexpected vacancies. Contact: John Fairbanks, john@capitolmr.com.