Daniel Bashiel Warner

Daniel Bashiel Warner (April 19, 1815 – December 1, 1880) served as the 3rd President of Liberia from 1864 to 1868. Prior to this, he served as the 5th Vice President of Liberia under President Stephen Allen Benson from 1860 to 1864, and as the 3rd Secretary of State in the cabinet of Joseph Jenkins Roberts from 1854 to 1856.

Daniel Bashiel Warner
3rd President of Liberia
In office January 4, 1864 – January 6, 1868
Vice President	James M. Priest
Preceded by	Stephen Allen Benson
Succeeded by	James Spriggs Payne
5th Vice President of Liberia
In office January 2, 1860 – January 4, 1864
President	Stephen Allen Benson
Preceded by	Beverly Page Yates
Succeeded by	James M. Priest
3rd Secretary of State
In office 1854–1856
President	Joseph Jenkins Roberts
Preceded by	John N. Lewis
Succeeded by	James Skivring Smith
Personal details
Born	April 19, 1815 Baltimore County, Maryland, United States
Died	December 1, 1880 (aged 65) Liberia
Political party	Republican

Background

Warner, an African American, was born on Hookstown Road in Baltimore County, Maryland, to a father who was a farmer and ex-slave who acquired his freedom one year before Warner was born.[1][2]

Warner's date of birth is unclear. Some records show that he was born on April 19, 1815.[1] American Colonization Society documents list him as age nine when he emigrated to Liberia, with eight relatives, on the ship Oswego in 1823.[2]

A member of the Americo-Liberian elite, before his presidency, he served as a member of the Liberian House of Representatives, including a term as Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1848 to 1849, and in the Liberian Senate.[3][4][5] Following his presidency, in 1877, he became an agent of the American Colonization Society.[6]

He also wrote the lyrics to the Liberian national anthem, which the country officially adopted when it became independent from the American Colonization Society in 1847.[7]

Presidency (1864–1868)

Warner's main concern as president was his government's relationship with the area's indigenous people, particularly those in the interior of the country. He organized the first expedition into the dense forest, led by Benjamin J. K. Anderson. In 1868, Anderson traveled into Liberia's interior to sign a treaty with the king of Musardu.[8] He took careful notes describing the peoples, the customs, and the natural resources of those areas he passed through, writing a published report of his journey. Using the information from Anderson's report, the Liberian government moved to assert limited control over the inland region.

See also

• History of Liberia

References

1. "Death Of A Liberian President,New York Times, March 13, 1881
2. Roll Of Emigrants That Have Been Sent To The Colony Of Liberia, Western Africa, By The American Colonization Society And Its Auxiliaries, To September 1843 Archived 2008-07-05 at the Wayback Machine
3. Emma Jones Lapsansky Werner & Margaret Hope Bacon. Back To Africa
4. Dunn, D. Elwood (4 May 2011). "The Annual Messages of the Presidents of Liberia 1848–2010: State of the Nation Addresses to the National Legislature". Walter de Gruyter – via Google Books.
5. American Colonization Society, "Information About Going To Liberia With Things Which Every Emigrot Ought To Know", 1852
6. Michele Mitchell, Righteous Propaganda
7. Streissguth, Thomas. Liberia In Pictures
8. http://www.sierra-leone.org/Heroes/heroes2.html

External links

• History of Liberia, external links