PoliticalGraveyard.com
The Political Graveyard: A Database of American History
Politicians Who Disappeared
or Died Under Mysterious Circumstances

Very incomplete list!

in chronological order

  Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) — of Missouri. Born near Ivy, Albemarle County, Va., August 18, 1774. Governor of Louisiana (Missouri) Territory, 1807-09; died in office 1809. English and Welsh ancestry. Member, Freemasons. Commanded expedition with William Clark to Oregon, 1803-04. Died from gunshot wounds under mysterious circumstances (murder or suicide?) at Grinder's Stand, an inn on the Natchez Trace near Hohenwald, Lewis County, Tenn., October 11, 1809 (age 35 years, 54 days). Interment at Meriwether Lewis Park, Near Hohenwald, Lewis County, Tenn.
  Relatives: Son of William Lewis and Lucy (Meriwether) Lewis; first cousin once removed of Howell Lewis, John Walker, David Meriwether (1755-1822), James Meriwether (1755-1817), Francis Walker and George Rockingham Gilmer; first cousin five times removed of Arthur Sidney Demarest; second cousin of James Meriwether (1788-1852), David Meriwether (1800-1893) and James Archibald Meriwether; second cousin once removed of George Washington, Howell Cobb (1772-1818), Thomas Walker Gilmer, David Shelby Walker and Reuben Handy Meriwether; second cousin twice removed of Howell Cobb (1815-1868), Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb, James David Walker and David Shelby Walker Jr.; second cousin thrice removed of Hubbard T. Smith; second cousin four times removed of Archer Woodford; third cousin of Theodorick Bland, Robert Brooke, Bushrod Washington, George Madison and Richard Aylett Buckner; third cousin once removed of John Randolph of Roanoke, Henry St. George Tucker, John Thornton Augustine Washington, Zachary Taylor, Francis Taliaferro Helm and Aylette Buckner; third cousin twice removed of John Strother Pendleton, Albert Gallatin Pendleton, Aylett Hawes Buckner, Charles John Helm, Thomas Leonidas Crittenden, Nathaniel Beverly Tucker and Hubbard Dozier Helm; third cousin thrice removed of James Francis Buckner Jr., Key Pittman, Claude Pollard and Vail Montgomery Pittman; fourth cousin once removed of Henry Rootes Jackson.
  Political families: Demarest-Meriwether-Lewis family of New Jersey; Harrison-Randolph-Marshall-Cabell family of Virginia; Walker-Meriwether-Kellogg family of Virginia (subsets of the Four Thousand Related Politicians).
  Cross-reference: George F. Shannon
  Lewis counties in Idaho, Ky., Mo., Tenn. and Wash. are named for him; Lewis and Clark County, Mont. is named partly for him.
  Other politicians named for him: Meriwether Lewis RandolphMeriwether Lewis Walker
  Coins and currency: His portrait appeared (along with Clark's) on the $10 U.S. Note from 1898 to 1927.
  See also Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier
  Books about Meriwether Lewis: Thomas C. Danisi, Uncovering the Truth About Meriwether Lewis — Donald Barr Chidsey, Lewis and Clark: The Great Adventure
  William H. Hunter (d. 1842) — of Ohio. Born in Frankfort, Franklin County, Ky. Democrat. U.S. Representative from Ohio 14th District, 1837-39. Died under mysterious circumstances near Sandusky, Erie County, Ohio, 1842. Interment at Cholera Cemetery, Sandusky, Ohio.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page
  Alexander Somervell (1796-1854) — of Texas. Born in Maryland, June 11, 1796. Colonel in the Texas Army during the Texas War of Independence; Texas Republic Secretary of War, 1836; member of Texas Republic Senate from District of Colorado and Austin, 1836-38. Died under mysterious circumstances in 1854 (age about 58 years); his body was found lashed to the timbers of a capsized boat. Burial location unknown.
  Somervell County, Tex. is named for him.
  Thomas Taylor Minor (1844-1889) — also known as Thomas T. Minor — of Port Townsend, Jefferson County, Wash.; Seattle, King County, Wash. Born, of American parents, in Manepy, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), February 20, 1844. Republican. Served in the Union Army during the Civil War; physician; one of the founders of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railroad; delegate to Republican National Convention from Washington Territory, 1880; mayor of Port Townsend, Wash., 1880-83; mayor of Seattle, Wash., 1887-88. Member, Freemasons. Last seen traveling by canoe to Whidbey Island, with others, on a duck huting trip, and was never heard from again; presumed drowned in a watercraft accident, in Puget Sound, December 2, 1889 (age 45 years, 285 days). His canoe was recovered, but his remains were not found.
  Relatives: Son of Eastman Strong Minor and Judith (Manchester) Minor; married, August 20, 1872, to Sarah Montgomery; grandfather of Thomas Minor Pelly.
  Political family: Moriarty-Minor family of Seattle, Washington.
  The T.T. Minor School (built 1890, demolished 1940, rebuilt 1941, closed 2010, renovated and reopened 2016), in Seattle, Washington, is named for him.  — Minor Avenue, in Seattle, Washington, is named for him.
  See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Frank Bosworth Brandegee (1864-1924) — also known as Frank B. Brandegee — of New London, New London County, Conn. Born in New London, New London County, Conn., July 8, 1864. Republican. Lawyer; member of Connecticut state house of representatives from New London, 1889, 1899-1900; Speaker of the Connecticut State House of Representatives, 1899-1900; alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1900; member of Connecticut Republican State Central Committee, 1901; U.S. Representative from Connecticut 3rd District, 1902-05; U.S. Senator from Connecticut, 1905-24; died in office 1924. Member, Union League. Killed himself by inhaling from a gaslight, in Washington, D.C., October 14, 1924 (age 60 years, 98 days). Five years later, U.S. Sen. Cole Blease of South Carolina received a letter from a woman alleging that Brandegee had been murdered; the letter was turned over to a Senate committee to investigate the mystery, but nothing came of it. Interment at Cedar Grove Cemetery, New London, Conn.
  Relatives: Son of Augustus Brandegee and Nancy Christine (Bosworth) Brandegee; first cousin seven times removed of Roger Wolcott; second cousin five times removed of Matthew Griswold; third cousin once removed of William Henderson Packwood; fourth cousin once removed of Alonzo Mark Leffingwell and Otis Larry Packwood.
  Political family: Wolcott-Griswold-Packwood-Brandegee family of Connecticut (subset of the Four Thousand Related Politicians).
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Harold Merriman Deane (1891-1929) — also known as Harold M. Deane — of Connecticut; Providence, Providence County, R.I. Born in Waterbury, New Haven County, Conn., October 24, 1891. Foreign Service officer; U.S. Consul in Valparaiso, 1925-27; Montreal, 1927-29, died in office 1929. Found hanged in his apartment -- the coroner's jury was unable to decide whether his death was murder or suicide -- in Montreal, Quebec, August 28, 1929 (age 37 years, 308 days). Interment somewhere in Waterbury, Conn.
  William Montross Inglis (1875-1932) — also known as William M. Inglis — of Seattle, King County, Wash. Born in Clyde Township, St. Clair County, Mich., January 7, 1875. Republican. Colonel in the U.S. Army during World War I; delegate to Republican National Convention from Washington, 1924, 1928 (alternate). Killed by a single gunshot behind his ear, under mysterious circumstances, and posthumously accused of attempted murder, in Seattle, King County, Wash., October 22, 1932 (age 57 years, 289 days). The only witness, Mary Nash, who shared the apartment, said that he had been despondent and drinking heavily; that she had hidden his pistol, but he had found it; that without warning, he shot her twice (she was badly injured but survived), and then immediately killed himself; investigators questioned her story, and thought he might have been murdered, but she was not charged. Interment at Lake View Cemetery, Seattle, Wash.
  Relatives: Son of John Jacob Inglis and Martha Ann (Montross) Inglis; married to Anne Hughes.
  See also Find-A-Grave memorial
  Vincent Luke Palmisano (1882-1953) — also known as Vincent L. Palmisano — of Baltimore, Md. Born in Termini, Sicily, Italy, August 5, 1882. Democrat. Lawyer; member of Maryland state house of delegates from Baltimore city 1st District, 1914-15; U.S. Representative from Maryland 3rd District, 1927-39; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Maryland, 1940. Catholic. Italian ancestry. Member, Foresters. Disappeared from his home, and either died by suicide or was murdered, January 12, 1953 (age 70 years, 160 days). His body was recovered from Baltimore Harbor, March 5, 1953. Interment at New Cathedral Cemetery, Baltimore, Md.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Thomas Hale Boggs, Sr. (1914-1972) — also known as Hale Boggs — of New Orleans, Orleans Parish, La. Born in Long Beach, Harrison County, Miss., February 15, 1914. Democrat. Lawyer; U.S. Representative from Louisiana 2nd District, 1941-43, 1947-72; died in office 1972; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Louisiana, 1948, 1956, 1960, 1968; Parliamentarian, 1964; chair, Resolutions and Platform Committee, chair, 1968; candidate for Governor of Louisiana, 1952; Vice-Chair of Democratic National Committee, 1957; member, President's Commission on the Assassination of President KNDY, 1963-64. Catholic. Member, American Legion; Amvets; Catholic War Veterans; Sons of the American Revolution; Knights of Columbus; American Bar Association; American Judicature Society; Phi Beta Kappa; Beta Theta Pi; Omicron Delta Kappa. Disappeared while on a campaign flight from Anchorage to Juneau, and presumed killed in a plane crash, somewhere in Alaska, October 16, 1972 (age 58 years, 244 days). The wreckage was never found. Cenotaph at Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
  Relatives: Son of William Robertson Boggs and Claire Josephine (Hale) Boggs; married, January 22, 1938, to Corinne Claiborne; father of Barbara Boggs Sigmund, Thomas Hale Boggs Jr. and Cokie Roberts.
  Boggs Peak in the Chugach Mountains, Anchorage, Alaska, is named for him.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier
  Books about Thomas Hale Boggs: Gary Boulard, The Big Lie: Hale Boggs, Lucille May Grace, and Leander Perez
  Nicholas Joseph Begich (1932-1972) — also known as Nick Begich — of Anchorage, Alaska. Born in Eveleth, St. Louis County, Minn., April 6, 1932. Democrat. Member of Alaska state senate, 1963-71; U.S. Representative from Alaska at-large, 1971-72; died in office 1972; alternate delegate to Democratic National Convention from Alaska, 1972. Alaska Native and Croatian ancestry. Disappeared while on a campaign flight from Anchorage to Juneau, and presumed killed in a plane crash, somewhere in Alaska, October 16, 1972 (age 40 years, 193 days). The wreckage was never found. Cenotaph at Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
  Relatives: Son of John Begich and Anna (Martinich) Begich; brother of Joseph Richard Begich; married 1956 to Margaret Jendro; father of Nicholas J. Begich Jr., Thomas Scott Begich and Mark Peter Begich (who married Deborah Bonito).
  Political family: Begich family of Anchorage, Alaska.
  Begich Peak in the Chugach Mountains, Anchorage, Alaska, is named for him.  — Begich Middle School, in Anchorage, Alaska, is named for him.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Find-A-Grave memorial
"Enjoy the hospitable entertainment of a political graveyard."
Henry L. Clinton, Apollo Hall, New York City, February 3, 1872
The Political Graveyard

The Political Graveyard is a web site about U.S. political history and cemeteries. Founded in 1996, it is the Internet's most comprehensive free source for American political biography, listing 320,919 politicians, living and dead.
 
  The coverage of this site includes (1) the President, Vice President, members of Congress, elected state and territorial officeholders in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories; and the chief elected official, typically the mayor, of qualifying municipalities; (2) candidates at election, including primaries, for any of the above; (3) all federal judges and all state appellate judges; (4) certain federal officials, including the federal cabinet, diplomatic chiefs of mission, consuls, U.S. district attorneys, collectors of customs and internal revenue, members of major federal commissions; and political appointee (pre-1969) postmasters of qualifying communities; (5) state and national political party officials, including delegates, alternate delegates, and other participants in national party nominating conventions; (6) Americans who served as "honorary" consuls for other nations before 1950. Note: municipalities or communities "qualify", for Political Graveyard purposes, if they have at least half a million person-years of history, inclusive of predecessor, successor, and merged entities.  
  The listings are incomplete; development of the database is a continually ongoing project.  
  Information on this page — and on all other pages of this site — is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed. Users are advised to check with other sources before relying on any information here.  
  The official URL for this page is: https://politicalgraveyard.com/death/disappeared.html.  
  Links to this or any other Political Graveyard page are welcome, but specific page addresses may sometimes change as the site develops.  
  If you are searching for a specific named individual, try the alphabetical index of politicians.  
Copyright notices: (1) Facts are not subject to copyright; see Feist v. Rural Telephone. (2) Politician portraits displayed on this site are 70-pixel-wide monochrome thumbnail images, which I believe to constitute fair use under applicable copyright law. Where possible, each image is linked to its online source. However, requests from owners of copyrighted images to delete them from this site are honored. (3) Original material, programming, selection and arrangement are © 1996-2023 Lawrence Kestenbaum. (4) This work is also licensed for free non-commercial re-use, with attribution, under a Creative Commons License.
Site information: The Political Graveyard is created and maintained by Lawrence Kestenbaum, who is solely responsible for its structure and content. — The mailing address is The Political Graveyard, P.O. Box 2563, Ann Arbor MI 48106. — This site is hosted by HDL. — The Political Graveyard opened on July 1, 1996; the last full revision was done on March 8, 2023.

Creative 
Commons License Follow polgraveyard on Twitter [Amazon.com]