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Thomas Buchanan
1st Governor of Liberia
In office
April 1, 1839 – September 3, 1841
Preceded byJehudi Ashmun
Succeeded byJoseph Jenkins Roberts
Personal details
BornNovember 19, 1808
DiedSeptember 3, 1841 (aged 32)
Monrovia, Liberia

Thomas Buchanan (November 19, 1808 – September 3, 1841) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the first official governor of Liberia for the American Colonization Society. He was a relative of James Buchanan, who later became the 15th president of the United States.[1]

Career

Buchanan served in the 1830s as the envoy of the American Colonization Society (ACS) to the colony of Liberia, which was founded by the ACS on the coast in West Africa in 1821. He worked first as an administrator in Grand Bassa before moving to Monrovia in 1839. On April 1, Buchanan was appointed as the first governor of the colony, serving until his death on September 3, 1841.[2] He died from a fever—either yellow fever or malaria—and is buried in Monrovia.[3]

Legacy

He is the namesake of Buchanan, Liberia, the seat of Grand Bassa County.

References

  1. ^ "Buchanan, Liberia". Encyclopedia Britannica.
  2. ^ Miller, Randall M. (1990). Dear Master: Letters of a Slave Family. University of Georgia Press. p. 71. ISBN 9780820323794. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  3. ^ Ed, Jesse N. Mongrue M. (August 2011). Liberia: America's Footprint in Africa: Making the Cultural, Social, and Political Connections. iUniverse. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-4620-2164-2.


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