Richard C. Byrd


Richard C. Byrd was an American politician and Acting Governor of the State of Arkansas in 1849.

Biography

Byrd was born in 1805 in Hawkins County, Tennessee. Byrd was a merchant and farmer, and moved to Arkansas in 1826.

Political career

Byrd became auditor for the Arkansas Territory and served in that position from 1829 to 1831. He served in the Territorial Legislature in 1833. He served as a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1836, and in the Arkansas Senate in 1840, 1842, 1846, and 1848. Byrd had an unsuccessful gubernatorial run in 1844.
When Governor Thomas Stevenson Drew resigned from office on January 10, 1849, Byrd was president of the Senate and became acting governor. Byrd left the office on April 19, 1849, and returned to his mercantile store in Jefferson County, Arkansas.

Death

Byrd died at his home in Jefferson County following a lengthy illness.