William Gaston (Massachusetts politician)

William Gaston
29th Governor of Massachusetts
In office January 7, 1875 – January 6, 1876
Lieutenant	Horatio G. Knight
Preceded by	Thomas Talbot (acting)
Succeeded by	Alexander H. Rice
Mayor of Boston
In office 1871–1872
Preceded by	Nathaniel B. Shurtleff
Succeeded by	Henry L. Pierce
8th Mayor of Roxbury, Massachusetts
In office 1861–1862
Preceded by	Theodore Otis
Succeeded by	George Lewis
Member of the Massachusetts State Senate[1]
In office 1868–1868
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives[1]
In office 1856–1856
In office 1853–1854
Personal details
Born	(1820-10-03)October 3, 1820 Killingly, Connecticut
Died	January 19, 1894(1894-01-19) (aged 73) Boston, Massachusetts
Political party	Whig Democratic
Alma mater	Brown University
Profession	Lawyer
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William Gaston (October 3, 1820 – January 19, 1894) was a lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. A Democrat, he was the first member of that party to serve as Governor of Massachusetts (1875–1876) after the American Civil War. He was a successful trial lawyer and politically conservative Democrat, who won election as governor after his opponent, Thomas Talbot, vetoed legislation to relax alcohol controls.

Born in Connecticut, Gaston was educated at Brown University, where he helped establish the second chapter of Delta Phi in 1838. Gaston launched a successful law practice in Roxbury before becoming involved in local politics. In the 1860s, he served as mayor of Roxbury, and afterward promoted its annexation to Boston (completed in 1868). He then later served as Boston mayor, during a period which included the Great Boston Fire of 1872.