Abel P. Upshur

Lawyer and politician

Died when: 53 years 256 days (644 months)
Star Sign: Gemini

 

Abel Parker Upshur (June 17, 1790 – February 28, 1844) was a lawyer, planter, slaveowner, judge and politician from the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

Active in Virginia state politics for decades, with a brother and a nephew who became distinguished U.S.Navy officers, Judge Upshur left the Virginia bench to become the Secretary of the Navy and Secretary of State during the administration of President John Tyler, a fellow Virginian.

He negotiated the treaty that led to the 1845 annexation of the Republic of Texas to the United States and helped ensure that it was admitted as a slave state.

Upshur died on February 28, 1844, when a gun on the warship USS Princeton exploded during a demonstration.

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