Early 18th century man becomes governor of New Hampshire as a direct result of a failed business venture!

>New Hampshire’s [Benning Wentworth](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Governor_Benning_Wentworth.jpg), the colonial governor who set the record for longest continuous service (twenty-five years), achieved his position because he failed in business. In 1733, Wentworth delivered a large shipment of timber to the Spanish government, but relations between Spain and England worsened, Spain refused to pay, and Wentworth could not pay his debts. Wentworth’s London creditors saw that Wentworth would be able to repay them only if he became a colonial governor with a good salary, so they used their political ties with the Duke of Newcastle to get Wentworth the job in 1741. ______________________________ **Source:** Olasky, Marvin. “Dual Governments.” *Fighting for Liberty and Virtue: Political and Cultural Wars in Eighteenth-Century America*. Crossway Books, 1995. 25. Print. **Original Source(s) Listed:** Charles E. Clark, *The Eastern Frontier* (New York: Knopf, 1970), 301. Charles H. Lincoln, ed., *Correspondence of William Shirley* (New York: Macmillan, 1912), 1:6-43. ______________________________ **Further Reading:** [Benning Wentworth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benning_Wentworth)