Samuel Jordan Kirkwood

Samuel Jordan Kirkwood 1813-94, American politician, b. Harford co., Md. Moving to Ohio in 1835, he served (1845-49) as prosecuting attorney for Richland co. and was a member (1850-51) of the Ohio constitutional convention. After settling in Iowa in 1855, he was elected (1856) to the state legislature and then to the governorship (1860-64). A thoroughgoing radical Republican, he successfully quelled internal dissension and supplied the Union Army with over 50 regiments of infantry and cavalry, partly fitted out with his own money. In 1866-67, Kirkwood filled out a term in the U.S. Senate. He was again governor (1876-77), U.S. Senator (1877-81), and Secretary of the Interior (1881-82).

Tomalin, Claire (1933– ) biographer, born in London, educated at Newnham College, Cambridge. Her biographies, which have for the most part been notable for their scholarly and sensitive reclamation of women's lives from historical neglect or misunderstanding, include The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft (1974), Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life (1987), The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens (1990), Mrs Jordan's Profession (1994, a study of the actress Mrs Jordan, inspired by her research into the theatrical profession during her work on Ellen Ternan), and Jane Austen: A Life (1997). Her unparalleled life of Pepys, Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self (2002), was named Whitbread Book of the Year.