Edward Kavanagh

Edward Kavanagh (April 27, 1795 – January 22, 1844) was a United States representative and the 17th governor of Maine. Born in Newcastle in the Massachusetts District of Maine to Irish Catholic immigrants from County Wexford. He later attended Montreal Seminary (in Quebec, Canada) and Georgetown College in Washington. He graduated from St. Mary's College (Baltimore) in 1813. He studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Damariscotta, Maine. He was a member of the Maine House of Representatives from 1826 to 1828, and was secretary of the state senate in 1830.

Kavanagh's public career began with a plea to the framers of the Maine Constitution to include an article for official religious toleration. His first elected role was on the school committee, followed by roles as selectman, state representative, and state senator. In 1829 the legislature elected him as secretary of state.

Kavanagh was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-second and Twenty-third Congresses, serving from March 4, 1831, to March 3, 1835. He was nationally noticed as the first Catholic elected from New England.