Richard J. Oglesby
Union Army general
Died when: 74 years 273 days (896 months)Star Sign: Leo
Richard James Oglesby (July 25, 1824 – April 24, 1899) was an American soldier and Republican politician from Illinois, who served three non-consecutive terms as Governor of Illinois (from 1865 to 1869, for ten days in 1873, and from 1885 to 1889) and as a United States Senator from Illinois (from 1873 to 1879), and earlier was a member of the Illinois Senate, elected in 1860.
The town of Oglesby, Illinois, is named in his honor, as is an elementary school situated in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood of Chicago's south side.
He served in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War of 1846–47, and after the war became a prospector during the California Gold Rush and was elected to the Illinois General Assembly.
During the American Civil War, Oglesby volunteered for the Union Army and rose to the rank of major general, serving in the Western Theater; he left the army when he was elected Governor of Illinois in 1864.
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