William Bigler

William Bigler (11 January 1814 - 9 August 1880) was governor of Pennsylvania from 1852 to 1855. Bigler was born in rural Pennsylvania and recieved little formal education; he studied informally under his elder brother John Bigler (later governor of California), publisher of the Centre County Democrat newspaper. Bigler founded his own political newspaper, the Clearfield Democrat, in 1833, and later became wealthy in the lumbe business. In the 1840s, he served in the Pennsylvania senate and he defeated incumbent governor William F. Johnsoton for the governor's seat in 1851. Although Bigler opposed slavery in principle, he supported the federal government's Fugitive Slave Act and the pro-slavery Kansas-Nebraska Act. He was defeated for a second term by James Pollock, the candidate of the newly formed Republican Party. Following his term as governor, he served in the United States Senate from 1856 to 1861.

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