Edward Kent (January 8, 1802 – May 19, 1877) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 12th and 15th governor of Maine. He was among the last prominent members of the Whig Party in Maine before it collapsed in favor of the Republicans. He was elected to two non-consecutive terms (1838–39 and 1841–42), though his second term was through direct appointment by the Whig-dominated Maine Legislature.
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Early life and education
Born in 1802 in Concord, New Hampshire, Kent was raised in Bangor, Maine. He graduated from Harvard University in 1821, in the same class as Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Career
He apprenticed as a lawyer in Topsham, Maine, but established his own practice in the growing lumber-port of Bangor in 1825. He was elected to the Maine Legislature in 1829 and held political offices on and off the rest of his life, becoming the second mayor of Bangor (1836–1837) and governor of Maine.
Kent went into practice with Jonas Cutting in 1831 and their partnership lasted 18 years. The two constructed the Jonas Cutting–Edward Kent House in Bangor's Broadway neighborhood, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an example of the Greek Revival style.