Pennington, William

Pennington, William

(1796–1862) U.S. representative, governor; born in Newark, N.J. A Princeton graduate and lawyer, he became embroiled with Congress when as Whig governor of New Jersey (1837–43) he affixed his "Broad Seal" to dubious election returns. He later went to the U.S. House of Representatives (1859–62), serving an undistinguished term as compromise Speaker (1859–62).