Henry Bedinger


Henry Bedinger III was a nineteenth-century politician, lawyer and diplomat from Virginia. He was the nephew of George Michael Bedinger.

Biography

Born near Shepherdstown, Virginia, Bedinger attended the common schools as a child, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1832, commencing practice in Shepherdstown. He moved to Charlestown, Virginia and continued practicing law their before being elected a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives in 1844, serving from 1845 to 1849. After being unsuccessful for reelection, Bedinger resumed practicing law. He was appointed by President Franklin Pierce Chargé d'Affaires and later Minister to Denmark, serving from 1853 to 1858. He died of pneumonia a few months after his resignation in Shepherdstown, Virginia on November 26, 1858 and was interred there in Elmwood Cemetery.