{{Short description|American politician}} {{About|the Massachusetts representative|the Ohio representative|Edward F. Dickinson|the British ornithologist|Edward C. Dickinson}} {{Use American English|date=March 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Edward Dickinson | honorific_suffix = | image = File:Edward Dickinson.jpg | alt = | state1 = [[Massachusetts]] | district1 = {{ushr|MA|10|10th}} | term_start1 = March 4, 1853 | term_end1 = March 3, 1855 | predecessor1 = [[Zeno Scudder]] | successor1 = [[Calvin C. Chaffee]] | birth_date = {{birth date|1803|1|1}} | birth_place = [[Amherst, Massachusetts]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1874|6|16|1803|1|1}} | death_place = [[Boston]], Massachusetts, U.S. | party = [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] | spouse = [[Emily Norcross Dickinson]] | children = [[William Austin Dickinson|Austin]], [[Emily Dickinson|Emily]], [[Lavinia Norcross Dickinson|Lavinia]] | alma_mater = [[Yale College]]<br>[[Northampton Law School]] | occupation =Lawyer | profession = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = | footnotes = }} '''Edward Dickinson''' (January 1, 1803 – June 16, 1874) was an American politician from [[Massachusetts]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=DICKINSON, Edward,1803 – 1874 |url=https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/D000319 |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=Biographical Dictionary of the United States Congress}}</ref> He is also known as the father of the poet [[Emily Dickinson]]; their family home in Amherst, the [[Emily Dickinson Museum]], is a museum dedicated to her.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Edward Dickinson (1803-1874), father |url=https://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/edward-dickinson-1803-1874-father/ |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=Emily Dickinson Museum}}</ref>
==Life and career== [[File:Houghton EDR 467 - Wild Flowers Drawn, dedication.jpg|thumb|left|Signature of Edward Dickinson in a book given to his daughter Emily, 1859]] Dickinson, the eldest son of Hon. Samuel Fowler Dickinson and Lucretia (Gunn) Dickinson, was born in [[Amherst, Massachusetts]], where he attended public schools and the [[Amherst College|Amherst Academy]]. He graduated from [[Yale College]] in 1823 and studied at [[Northampton Law School]] in [[Northampton, Massachusetts]]. He was admitted to the bar and commenced law practice in Amherst in 1826. On May 6, 1828, he married [[Emily Norcross Dickinson]] (1804–1882); they had three children: [[William Austin Dickinson|William Austin]], [[Emily Dickinson|Emily Elizabeth]], and [[Lavinia Norcross Dickinson|Lavinia Norcross]].<ref name=":1" />
Dickinson served as treasurer of [[Amherst College]] from 1835 until 1873.<ref name=":0" /> He received an honorary [[Legum Doctor|LL.D.]] from Amherst in 1863.
He served in the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]] 1838–1839 and in the [[Massachusetts Senate]] from 1842 to 1843.<ref name=":0" /> He was a member of the [[Massachusetts Governor's Council]] in 1846 and 1847.<ref name=":0" />
He was then elected as a [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] to the [[United States Congress]] 1853–1855 and subsequently declined candidacy for the Republican nomination of Lieutenant Governor in 1861 before returning to the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]] in 1873.<ref name=":0" /> He was elected for the main purpose of securing to the town the advantages of the [[Central Massachusetts Railroad|Massachusetts Central Railroad.]]
On the morning of June 16, 1874, after a careful speech in the House on his connection with the [[Hoosac Tunnel]], he suffered an [[apoplexy]] and died at his hotel before evening.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 17, 1874 |title=Death of Mr Edward Dickinson of Amherst |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-springfield-daily-republican-death-o/172668238/ |access-date=2025-05-19 |work=Springfield Daily Republican |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> He is buried in Amherst's West Cemetery.
==See also== {{Portal|Biography}} * [[1874 Massachusetts legislature]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{CongBio|D000319}} * {{Find a Grave|7675339}} {{Yaleobit}}
{{S-start}} {{S-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=Massachusetts | district=10 | before=[[Zeno Scudder]] | after=[[Calvin C. Chaffee]] | years=March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855}} {{End}}
{{Authority control}}
{{USRepMA}} {{Emily Dickinson}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickinson, Edward}} [[Category:1803 births]] [[Category:1874 deaths]] [[Category:Politicians from Amherst, Massachusetts]] [[Category:Dickinson family|Edward]] [[Category:Yale College alumni]] [[Category:Northampton Law School alumni]] [[Category:Whig Party United States representatives from Massachusetts]] [[Category:19th-century American poets]] [[Category:American male poets]] [[Category:19th-century United States representatives]] [[Category:19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court]] [[Category:19th-century American male writers]]