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E. H. East)
Edward Hazzard East, commonly known as E. H. East (October 1, 1830 – November 12, 1904) served as Secretary of State for the U.S. state of Tennessee from 1862-1865, having been appointed by Andrew Johnson, the military governor of the state under Union occupation during the American Civil War. After Johnson was inaugurated as Vice-President of the United States on March 4, 1865, East became the Acting Governor of Tennessee until William G. Brownlow, the "elected" governor of Tennessee, was inaugurated on April 5, 1865.
The official Tennessee Blue Book does not include East in its official list of former governors. This is one of several reasons why the number of Tennessee governors given is in conflict from one reference work to another.
East graduated from the Lebanon Law School (later Cumberland School of Law) in 1854. He was a Whig, following the model of Henry Clay. He opposed secession. After the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson became U.S. President and summoned East to Washington D.C. and offered Judge East "any position then open, all of which he declined." East was an eminent jurist, having argued cases before the United States Supreme Court and a noted orator, both before and after the Civil War. Judge East was one of the five original members of the Board of Trust of Vanderbilt University.
East is interred at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee.
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