Picture Connecticut: Who's That Guy At The Capitol?

HARTFORD, CT — Picture this, Connecticut.

You're walking along the lawn of the Connecticut State Capitol and pass by the front (well, it seems to be the front) lot. Suddenly see this guy standing off to the side like he's about to say something.

Wait, it's a statue.

And there's an inscription.

"Richard D. Hubbard ... Lawyer, Orator, Statesman."

OK, who is, or was this guy and why does he get a monument at the hug of state government?

According to the National Governor's Association, Richard Dudley Hubbard was Connecticut's 31st governor. He was born in Berlin, on Sept. 7, 1818. He was an orphan and supported himself while attending Yale University.

After graduating in 1839, Hubbard studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1842.

He was a state representative from 1842 to 1855, and held again in 1858. He also served as state's attorney of Hartford County from 1846 to 1868, and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1867 to 1869.

Hubbard was elected Governor of Connecticut on November 7, 1876, and was sworn into office on January 3, 1877.

During his tenure, a bill was enacted that made a wife equal in property rights to her husband’s.

Also during his tenure the State Board of Health was formed, as was a commission overseeing Connecticut's dams and reservoirs. Regulations were streamlined for the insurance.

Hubbard did not win re-election, and left office, retiring from public service.

While practicing law in Hartford, he became an eloquent orator. Hubbard died on Feb. 28, 1884, and is buried at the Cedar Hill Cemetery, according to the governor's association.

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Picture Connecticut is a weekly Patch series featuring unique images of the state, past and present.

Previous featured images:

• The Doughboy, East Hartford
• The Walt Whitman Stone, West Hartford
• The indoor bush plane, Hartford County
• The Big Pink Chair, Ellington
• The Notch, Granby
• The CT 9/11 Monument, Westport
• Vintage Gas Pump, Somers
• Tobacco Harvest, East Windsor
• Late Afternoon, Lakeside, Coventry
• Fogarea, New Haven County
• Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens, Washington Depot
• Connecticut River Police Boat, Rocky Hill
• The first dentist, Windsor
• The Frog Bridge, Willimantic
• The World War Bridge Rapids, Putnam
• The Peeking Cow, Tolland County
• The Ivy Lacrosse Tournament, New Canaan
• The Bradley International Airport runway, Windsor Locks
• The Underground Railroad, Unionville
• The cow carousel, Ellington
• Charles Island, Milford
• State Veterans Cemetery, Middletown
• Glastonbury-Rocky Hill Ferry, Glastonbury/Rocky Hill
• The Old County Jailhouse, Tolland
• Agent Orange Monument, Andover
• The Sunken Garden, Farmington
• Lafayette Tour Monument, Vernon
• The Pinchot Sycamore, Simsbury
• Bob's Discount Furniture Studios, Manchester