James "Honest Dick" Tate

James W. "Honest Dick" Tate
Kentucky State Treasurer
In office 1867–1888
Preceded by	Mason Brown
Succeeded by	Stephen G. Sharpe
Kentucky Assistant Secretary of State
In office 1854–1855
Kentucky Assistant Secretary of State
In office 1859–1863
Assistant Clerk of the Kentucky House of Representatives
In office 1865–1867
Personal details
Born	(1831-01-02)January 2, 1831 Franklin County, Kentucky
Died	Unknown after 1890 Unknown (China[?]
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Lucy J. Hawkins-Tate
Profession	Post office clerk

James William "Honest Dick" Tate (January 2, 1831^[1] – unknown (after 1890{?]) was the Kentucky State Treasurer. He was nicknamed "Honest Dick" because of his good reputation and rapport with his colleagues. The nickname turned ironic, however, when Tate absconded with nearly a quarter of a million dollars from the state's treasury in 1888. He was never found.

Tate's thievery was frequently cited during Kentucky's fourth constitutional convention as a reason to impose term limits on Kentucky's elected officials. The one-term limit remained in force on most of Kentucky's officials until the state's constitution was amended in 1992 to allow the governor, lieutenant governor, state treasurer and other state officeholders to serve two consecutive terms.