Joshua Fry Bell

Whig Representative of Kentucky's 4th district

  • Representative

    Kentucky, district 4

    December 1, 1845 - March 3, 1847

1

Congresses Served

1

House Terms

November 26, 1811 (58 years old)

Birthday

August 17, 1870

Death

  • American politician and lawyer from Kentucky.
  • Attended public schools and graduated from Centre College in 1828.
  • Studied law in Lexington, Kentucky, and traveled in Europe before being admitted to the bar.
  • Owned slaves, with an increase in the number from four in 1850 to fourteen in 1860.
  • Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Whig, serving one term from 1845 to 1847.
  • Served as Kentucky Secretary of State in 1849.
  • Participated as a commissioner in the Peace Conference in Washington, D.C. in 1861, aiming to prevent the Civil War.
  • Was the Whig nominee for Governor of Kentucky in 1859 but lost the election.
  • Served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1862 to 1867.
  • Declined a nomination for Governor of Kentucky in 1863.
  • Died in 1870 and is buried at Bellevue Cemetery in Danville, Kentucky.
  • Bell County, Kentucky is named in his honor.