James_T._Austin
James T. Austin
American politician
James Trecothick Austin (January 7, 1784 – May 8, 1870) was the 22nd Massachusetts Attorney General.[1] Austin was the son of Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, and Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts Jonathan L. Austin.[1] He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1824.[7] He graduated from Harvard College in 1802.[8]
In 1837, he spoke at Faneuil Hall in praise of anti-abolitionists who had killed Elijah P. Lovejoy. He compared the mob to American patriots rising against the British and declared that Lovejoy "died as the fool dieth!"[9][lower-alpha 1]