William Bigler

William Bigler (January 1, 1814 – August 9, 1880) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Democrat as the 12th governor of Pennsylvania from 1852 to 1855 and as a member of the United States Senate for Pennsylvania from 1856 to 1861. His older brother, John Bigler, was elected governor of California during the same period. As of 2023, he is the last Democratic incumbent to lose reelection as Governor of Pennsylvania.

Early life and education Bigler was born in Sherman Valley, Pennsylvania, to Jacob and Susan Dock Bigler. He attended public schools and worked as a printer's apprentice, a journalist and as a member of the staff of the Centre County Democrat newspaper under his elder brother John Bigler who later became the governor of California.

Career In 1833, at the urging of his friends, including future Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin, Bigler founded his own political newspaper, the Clearfield Democrat which supported Jacksonian democracy. In 1836, he married Maria Jane Reed and together they had five children. He sold the newspaper and joined his father-in-law's lumber business as co-partner. Between 1845 and 1850, his lumber business became the largest producer of building supplies on the West branch of the Susquehanna River, earning him the nickname "The Clearfield Raftsman". He was a proponent of a central railroad from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh as competition to the B&O Railroad. His efforts resulted in a cross-state line in 1847 which was eventually sold and became the Pennsylvania Railroad.

He was elected the 12th Governor of Pennsylvania in 1851, defeating incumbent governor William F. Johnston. He and his brother John were the first brothers to serve as governors of two states simultaneously. He fought vigorously against wildcat banking and vetoed multiple bank charters and bank bills in his time as governor. He lost popularity through his support of the Walker Tariff, the right of southern states to retain slavery, and his enforcement of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act.

In 1855, he was defeated for re-election in a landslide by James Pollock, the candidate of the newly formed Republican Party.

During the secession crisis in 1861, he supported the compromise proposed by Kentucky Senator John J. Crittenden as a last ditch effort to avoid secession.

He died on August 9, 1880, in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, and was interred in Hillcrest Cemetery.

Legacy Biglerville, Pennsylvania, in Adams County, Pennsylvania, is named after him. Bigler Hall on the University Park campus of Penn State is named after Bigler, as are Bigler Street in Philadelphia, Bigler Township in Clearfield County, and Bigler Avenues in both Clearfield and Northern Cambria, Pennsylvania.

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