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Levi P. Morton Biography

U.S. Vice President

Levi Parsons Morton was a New York businessman who served as the vice president of the United States under Benjamin Harrison (1889-93). Morton was a businessman in Boston before moving to New York and establishing Levi P. Morton & Company, a banking firm that helped underwrite loans to the Union during the Civil War (the firm reorganized in 1869 as Morton, Bliss & Company). He served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1879-81) and was the U.S. Minister to France (1881-85) under President James Garfield. His successes in France helped his popularity in the U.S. and he was elected with Harrison on the 1888 Republican ticket. After leaving the White House he was briefly the governor of New York (1895-97) and then turned to real estate investing. He died on his 96th birthday.

Extra credit: Morton was the first American to climb the Statue of Liberty.

To read about more vice presidents on Who2, try our loop on The Unfinished Terms of U.S. Vice Presidents.