If Gov. Ned Lamont were to win a third term, he could become the longest-serving Connecticut governor since Jonathan Trumbull during the Revolutionary War.
But the chances of him outlasting John Winthrop “The Younger,” an early governor of the Connecticut Colony in the 1600s, are slim — it would require a fourth and fifth term before Lamont or anyone else could serve longer than Winthrop’s 18 years.
The Connecticut governor who served the shortest time was Hiram Bingham III, a remarkable figure who might have served as inspiration for the fictional Indiana Jones. Bingham was elected simultaneously as governor and to the U.S. Senate.
He chose the Senate role, but to ease the transition for his lieutenant governor, Bingham was sworn in as governor of Connecticut on Jan. 7, 1925 (101 years ago Wednesday). He attended the parade and the inaugural ball, then, the next day, he resigned and left for Washington, D.C.
In modern times, the longest-serving Connecticut governor was William A. O’Neill, a Democrat who served for more than 10 years. O’Neill was sworn in on the last day of 1980 after Gov. Ella T. Grasso resigned. He was reelected twice and served until early 1991 after he decided not to seek a third full term.
Back to Bingham, an historical footnote in the family’s home state of Connecticut, has for a time remained a household word in Peru, the Courant has reported. A few still believe that the assistant Yale professor absconded with Incan gold — even though there is no evidence of this. But most Peruvians appreciate that Hiram Bingham was instrumental in putting their country, and its rich heritage, squarely on the map, the Courant has reported. It’s not all rosy, however, as Peru had to struggle to get artifacts he took from there back from Yale University.
Editor’s note: The Courant added material to this CT Mirror story.