Joseph Ripley Chandler was a Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

 member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

.

Biography

Joseph R. Chandler was born in Kingston, Massachusetts

Kingston, Massachusetts

Kingston is a coastal town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. According to the 2010 Census, it had a population of 12,629.-History:Before European settlers arrived in Kingston it was within the tribal home to the Wampanoag people...

. He was engaged in commercial work in Boston, Massachusetts, and moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

, in 1815. He founded a young ladies’ seminary and worked as editor of the United States Gazette from 1822 to 1847. He was a member of the Philadelphia City Council

Philadelphia City Council

The Philadelphia City Council, the legislative body of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consists of ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large. The council president is elected by the members from among their number...

 from 1832 to 1848, and a member of the State constitutional convention in 1837. For a short time, he was an editorial assistant at Graham's Magazine

Graham's Magazine

Graham's Magazine was a nineteenth century periodical based in Philadelphia established by George Rex Graham. It was alternatively referred to as Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine , Graham's Magazine of Literature and Art , Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature and Art Graham's...

in 1848.

Chandler was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-first

31st United States Congress

The Thirty-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1849 to March 3, 1851, during the last 17 months...

, Thirty-second

32nd United States Congress

The Thirty-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1851 to March 3, 1853, during the third and...

, and Thirty-third

33rd United States Congress

The Thirty-third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1853 to March 3, 1855, during the first two years...

 Congresses. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1854

United States House election, 1854

The U.S. House election, 1854 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1854.The 1854 election was the beginning of the end for both the Democratic and Whig Parties. Party lines were very blurred and a minority government was formed...

. He was appointed by President James Buchanan

James Buchanan

James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....

 as Minister to the Two Sicilies and served from June 15, 1858, to November 15, 1860. He served as president of the board of directors of Girard College

Girard College

Girard College is an independent boarding school on a 43-acre campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States.Girard is for academically capable students, grades one through 12, and awards a full scholarship with a yearly value of approximately $42,000 to every child admitted to the...

. He became interested in prison reform

Prison reform

Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, aiming at a more effective penal system.-History:Prisons have only been used as the primary punishment for criminal acts in the last couple of centuries...

 and was a delegate to the International Prison Congress held at London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in 1872. He died in 1880 in Philadelphia, where he was interred in New Cathedral Cemetery.

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