Kentucky. Governor (1850-1851 : Helm)

John Larue Helm became governor of Kentucky in 1850, upon the resignation of Governor John J. Crittenden, and completed the final thirteen months of Crittenden's term. He was elected to office in his own right in 1867, but died five days after his inauguration. Helm was a Whig during his first term, and a Democrat by the time of his second term.

Born into a prominent Hardin County, Kentucky family on July 4, 1802, Helm studied in local schools and then read law with several Elizabethtown attorneys before being admitted to the bar in 1823. He was appointed to the office of Meade County Attorney in 1824, and elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives as a Whig in 1826. Until 1848, Helm served in the state House and Senate with brief interupptions, and was Speaker of the House four times. He was the Whig candidate for lieutenant governor in the 1848 election, and won on a ticket headed by John J. Crittenden.

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