Sylvester Pennoyer

Sylvester Pennoyer
8th Governor of Oregon
In office January 12, 1887 – January 14, 1895
Preceded by	Zenas Ferry Moody
Succeeded by	William Paine Lord
30th Mayor of Portland, Oregon
In office 1896–1898
Preceded by	George P. Frank
Succeeded by	William S. Mason
Personal details
Born	(1831-07-06)July 6, 1831 Groton, New York
Died	May 30, 1902(1902-05-30) (aged 70) Portland, Oregon
Political party	Democrat-People's[1]
Spouse	Mary A. Allen ​ (m. 1856)​
Children	five
Occupation	Politician, lawyer

Sylvester Pennoyer (July 6, 1831 – May 30, 1902) was an American educator, attorney, and politician in Oregon. He was born in Groton, New York, attended Harvard Law School, and moved to Oregon at age 25. A Democrat, he served two terms as the eighth Governor of Oregon from 1887 to 1895. He joined the Populist cause in the early 1890s and became the second Populist Party state governor in history. He was noted for his political radicalism, his opposition to the conservative Bourbon Democracy of President Grover Cleveland, his support for labor unions, and his opposition to the Chinese in Oregon. He was also noted for his prickly attitude toward both U.S. Presidents whose terms overlapped his own -- Benjamin Harrison and Cleveland, whom he once famously told via telegram to mind his own business.

He later served as mayor of Portland from 1896 to 1898.