View source for Nelson Dingley Jr.

{{Short description|Journalist and politician (1832–1899)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name         = Nelson Dingley
|image        = Dingley, Hon. Nelson (cropped).jpg
|caption = Dingley {{circa|1894–1899}}
|state        = [[Maine]]
|district     = {{ushr|ME|2|2nd}}
|term_start   = September 12, 1881
|term_end     = January 13, 1899
|predecessor  = [[William P. Frye]]
|successor    = [[Charles E. Littlefield]]
|office1      = 34th [[Governor of Maine]]
|term_start1  = January 7, 1874
|term_end1    = January 5, 1876
|predecessor1 = [[Sidney Perham]]
|successor1   = [[Seldon Connor]]
|birth_date   = {{birth date|1832|2|15}}
|birth_place  = [[Durham, Maine]], U.S.
|death_date   = {{death date and age|1899|1|13|1832|2|15}}
|death_place  = [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.
|party        = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|education    = [[Colby College]]<br>[[Dartmouth College]] {{small|([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])}}
}}
'''Nelson Dingley Jr.''' (February 15, 1832&nbsp;– January 13, 1899) was a journalist and politician from the U.S. state of [[Maine]].

Dingley was born in [[Durham, Maine]] and attended the common schools at [[Unity, Maine]] and Waterville College (now [[Colby College]]). He graduated from [[Dartmouth College]] in [[Hanover, New Hampshire]], in 1855, where he was a founding member of the Psi Epsilon chapter of [[Zeta Psi]] fraternity. He then studied law, received an LL.D. from [[Bates College]], and was admitted to the [[bar (law)|bar]] in 1856. However, he never practiced law and instead became proprietor and editor of the [[Lewiston, Maine]] ''Journal'', holding this post for more than twenty years. He was a member of the [[Maine House of Representatives]] 1862–1865, 1868, and again in 1873, serving as speaker in 1863 and 1864. He was the 34th [[governor of Maine]] in 1874 and a delegate to the [[Republican National Convention]] in 1876 and 1880.

Dingley was elected as a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] to the [[47th United States Congress|47th Congress]] to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of [[William P. Frye]]. He was then reelected to the [[48th United States Congress|48th]] and to the seven succeeding Congresses, serving from September 12, 1881, until his death in Washington, D.C., before the close of the [[55th United States Congress|55th Congress]]. Reputedly "destitute of humor but soundly versed in finance", Dingley was chairman of the [[U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means]] in the [[54th United States Congress|54th]] and 55th Congresses. The tariff schedule of 1897, known as the [[Dingley Act|Dingley Tariff]], was framed under his direction to repeal and reverse the lower rates set forth in the 1894 [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[Wilson–Gorman Tariff Act]]. The Dingley Tariff raised tariff rates and granted the President authority to invoke reciprocity when negotiating trade treaties.

Dingley had been reelected to the [[56th United States Congress|56th Congress]] and was succeeded by [[Charles E. Littlefield]] upon his death in Washington, D.C., on January 13, 1899. He is interred in Oak Hill Cemetery, near [[Auburn, Maine]].

==See also==
{{commons category}}
*[[List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1790–1899)]]

==External links==
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=1KwBAAAAMAAJ&q=The+Life+and+Times+of+Nelson+Dingley The Life and Times of Nelson Dingley Jr. (Google Books)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041025130410/http://waysandmeans.house.gov/legacy/portraits/1789-1898/dingley.htm Bio from House Ways and Means Committee]
{{CongBio|D000356}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Sidney Perham]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[Governor of Maine]]|years=[[1873 Maine gubernatorial election|1873]], [[1874 Maine gubernatorial election|1874]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Seldon Connor]]}}
|-
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Sidney Perham]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Governor of Maine]]|years=1874–1876}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Seldon Connor]]}}
|-
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{s-bef|before=[[William P. Frye]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[List of United States Representatives from Maine|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br>from [[Maine's 2nd congressional district]]|years=1881–1899}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Charles E. Littlefield]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[William Lyne Wilson|William Wilson]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chair of the [[United States House Committee on Ways and Means|House Ways and Means Committee]]|years=1895–1899}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Sereno E. Payne]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Governors of Maine}}
{{US House Ways and Means chairs}}
{{Speakers of the Maine House of Representatives}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dingley, Nelson Jr.}}
[[Category:1832 births]]
[[Category:1899 deaths]]
[[Category:Colby College alumni]]
[[Category:Bates College alumni]]
[[Category:Journalists from Maine]]
[[Category:Dartmouth College alumni]]
[[Category:Republican Party governors of Maine]]
[[Category:People from Durham, Maine]]
[[Category:Baptists from Maine]]
[[Category:American magazine editors]]
[[Category:Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine]]
[[Category:19th-century American journalists]]
[[Category:American male journalists]]
[[Category:19th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:19th-century Baptists]]
[[Category:19th-century United States representatives]]