Hahn, Michael, 1830-1886

Variant names

Dates:

Birth 1830-11-24

Death 1886-03-15

Gender:

Male

Nationality: Americans, Bavarians

Language: German, French, English

Biographical notes:

Georg Michael Decker Hahn (November 24, 1830 – March 15, 1886), was an attorney, politician, publisher and planter in New Orleans, Louisiana. He served twice in Congress during two widely separated periods, elected first as a Unionist Democratic Congressman in 1862, as a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 1865, and later as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1884. He was elected as the 19th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1864 to 1865 during the American Civil War, when the state was occupied by Union troops. He was the first German-born governor in the United States, and is also claimed as the first ethnic Jewish governor. By that time he was a practicing Episcopalian.

In 1865 Hahn was elected to the U.S. Senate, but Radical Republicans refused to allow him and other Southerners to be seated. Later he was elected for several terms as a Republican to the state House during the Reconstruction era, where he was also elected as Speaker. Hahn was active as a publisher and editor, owning and operating three newspapers in succession that supported the Republican Party, its program, and its candidates in the state. He spent much of his wealth in supporting these papers. Hahn continued to be politically active, being elected to Congress from Louisiana's 2nd congressional district in 1884 with a strong majority. He served about a year before his death in office.