Peter Hardeman Burnett First Governor of California Country: USA

1. Early Life and Education
2. Legal Career and Journalism
3. Later Career and Retirement

Early Life and Education

Peter Hardeman Burnett was born in 1807 in Nashville, Tennessee. At a young age, he moved with his parents to the state of Missouri, where he only received a basic education. At the age of nineteen, Burnett returned to Tennessee and began his own business. Simultaneously, he pursued his education, studying law, and in 1839, he obtained the opportunity to start his legal practice.

Legal Career and Journalism

While practicing law in Tennessee, Peter Burnett managed to edit the weekly newspaper "Far West," which was published in the state of Missouri. In 1848, he relocated to California, where he was elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly and played an active role in its sessions. As a territorial judge, Burnett participated in the drafting of California's constitution. In September 1849, he was chosen as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and in November of the same year, he became the first elected governor of California, even though California did not officially become a state until September 1850.

Later Career and Retirement

In 1851, Burnett resigned as governor and returned to his legal practice. When his term as a judge expired in 1858, he joined the Pacific Bank. He served as the bank's president for over twenty years before retiring in 1880. From that time until his death in 1895, Burnett lived in retirement.