9 December
Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback (10 May 1837 – 21 Dec 1921) was an American publisher and politician, a Union Army officer, and the first person of African descent to become governor of a U.S. state. He was born free in Georgia. A Republican, Pinchback served as the 24th Governor of Louisiana for 15 days, from 29 Dec, 1872, to 13 Jan, 1873. He was later elected to the state legislature, serving in 1879-1880.
Nicholas Lemann, in Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War, described Pinchback as "an outsized figure: newspaper publisher, gambler, orator, speculator, dandy, mountebank – served for a few months as the state's Governor and claimed seats in both houses of Congress following disputed elections but could not persuade the members of either to seat him."
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