William A. Buckingham, born in Lebanon, Connecticut, on May 28, 1804, attended Lebanon School and Bacon Academy in Colchester before settling in Norwich. Influenced by his uncle’s retail business, he first entered retailing and later invested in carpet manufacturing and the rubber shoe industry, achieving success that brought him a fortune and allowed him to devote his life to public service. He became Mayor of Norwich in 1847 and was elected Governor of Connecticut in 1858. A loyal friend of Abraham Lincoln, he served Connecticut as governor during the Civil War and resigned that office in 1866 after Lincoln’s assassination. In May 1868, he was elected to fill the first vacancy in the United States Senate. Regarded as an honorable, religious, sympathetic, charitable, and statesmanlike man whose career inspired others, he died in office on February 5, 1875, and his funeral was attended by numerous national dignitaries.