John H. Light

John Henry Light (1855–1947)[1] was a Republican Attorney General for the state of Connecticut and Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives.

John Henry Light
Connecticut Attorney General
In office September 15, 1910 – 1915
Governor	Frank B. Weeks
Preceded by	Marcus H. Holcomb
Succeeded by	George E. Hinman
Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives
In office 1901–1902
Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from Norwalk
In office 1899–1903
Preceded by	Russell Frost, Belden Hurlbutt
Succeeded by	Wallace Dann, Jeremiah Donovan
Personal details
Born	March 27, 1855 [1] Carmel, New York
Died	1947 (aged 91–92) [1]
Resting place	Norwalk, Connecticut
Political party	Republican
Residence	New Canaan, Connecticut South Norwalk, Connecticut
Alma mater	Chamberlain Institute and Female College
Occupation	teacher, lawyer

Early life

Light was born in Carmel, New York in 1855, to Belden Light and Ann (Keenan) Light. He moved with his parents to New Canaan, Connecticut at a young age, and his first job was at a tannery, where he earned money to fund his education. He married Ida M. Lockwood on August 3, 1881.

Light graduated from Chamberlain Institute and Female College in New York (an early coeducational institution). Light was a schoolteacher while being instructed in the law. He passed the Connecticut bar examination in 1883 and commenced a practice in Light settled in South Norwalk, Connecticut, now part of Norwalk.

Political career

He served as Fairfield County Treasurer from 1899 to 1906.[2] He also served for two terms in the Connecticut House of Representatives, from 1899 and 1901, serving as speaker in 1901. Light served as a Connecticut common pleas court judge from 1901 to 1905.

On September 15, 1910, Governor Frank B. Weeks appointed him Connecticut Attorney General to fill the unexpired term of Marcus H. Holcomb. Elected to a four-year term in November 1910, he served as Attorney General until 1915.

Light was a Congregationalist. He was a Freemason and a member of the Knights Templar, Shriners, and Odd Fellows. Light was also a student of the classics noted for his extensive private library.

References

1. John H. Light at Find a Grave
2. Osborn, Norris Galpin (1 October 1906). "Men of mark in Connecticut; ideals of American life told in biographies and autobiographies of eminent living Americans". Hartford, Conn., W.R. Goodspeed – via Internet Archive.

External links

• Profile from The Political Graveyard
• Profile from the Connecticut Attorney General's Office