About John D. White
Lived 1849 – 1920 (aged 70). John D. White was an American politician and lawyer.
John Daugherty White (January 16, 1849 – January 5, 1920) was an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from Kentucky. He was nephew of John White and cousin of Addison White and Hugh Lawson White both of whom served in public office.
Biography Born near Manchester in Clay County, Kentucky, one of six children of Daugherty White and Sarah Watts White. The Whites were a wealthy and politically influential family in Clay County, Kentucky, owning a saltworks and numerous land holdings, and were one side of the notorious Garrard-White Feud. White attended a private school until 1865 and Eminence (Kentucky) College and the University of Kentucky at Lexington until 1870. He was graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1872. He also attended the medical department of the same institution. His sister, Laura Rogers White, was one of the first eight women graduated from the University of Michigan in 1874. He was admitted to the bar by the Kentucky Court of Appeals in 1875, and practiced law.
White was elected as a Republican to the Forty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877). He declined to be a candidate for renomination. He served as chairman of the Kentucky Republican State convention at Louisville in 1879. He served as member of the State house of representatives in 1879 and 1880. He resigned in 1880. He was endorsed and reelected without opposition during the sitting of the legislature. He served as delegate to the 1880 Republican National Convention. He was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for the United States Senate in 1881.
White was elected as a Republican to the Forty-seventh and Forty-eighth Congresses (March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1885). He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1884 and resumed the practice of law in Louisville, Kentucky. He was an unsuccessful candidate of the State Prohibition Party for Governor of Kentucky in 1903. He was an unsuccessful candidate of the Progressive Party for judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals in 1912. He died in Garrard, Kentucky on January 5, 1920. He was interred in the family burying ground near Manchester, Kentucky.
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Important facts
People in John D. White's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
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Frequently asked questions
Who was John D. White?
American politician (1849-1920)
When was John D. White born?
John D. White was born on 16 January 1849 in Clay County.
When did John D. White die?
John D. White died on 5 January 1920 in Garrard.
What was John D. White's occupation?
John D. White was a politician and lawyer.
What nationality was John D. White?
John D. White was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). John D. White. https://biography.guide/john-d-white-politician/
MLA: "John D. White." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/john-d-white-politician/.
Chicago: "John D. White." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/john-d-white-politician/.
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