FISK, Clinton Bowen, American poli tician: b. Clapp's Corners, now Greigsville, Livingston County, N. Y., 8 Dec. 1828; of. New York, 9 July 1890. Early in life he removed with his parents to Michigan where he grew up and became a successful merchant and banker. As a result of the financial panic of 1857 he lost practically all that he possessed. In 1858 he moved to Saint Louis, Mo., as representative of a large eastern insurance company. Hav ing been an abolitionist for many years he was one of the first to volunteer after Fort Sumter had been fired upon. He served for a number of years and rose from private to brevet briga dier-general of volunteers, holding successively positions as colonel of the 33d Missouri regi ment, commander of an infantry division, com mander of the district of Southeast Missouri, of the district of Saint Louis, and of the district of North Missouri. In 1865 he was made as sistant commissioner in the Freedmen's Bureau for the States of Kentucky and Tennessee with headquarters at Nashville, Tenn., where he founded, in 1866, the Fisk School for Freedmen, which in 1867 was chartered as Fisk University (q.v.), an institution for the education of
colored persons of both sexes. On 1 Sept. 1866 he was mustered out of the United States mili tary service and returned to Saint Louis. Soon afterward he accepted an appointment as State commissioner of the South West Pacific Rail road. After a few years he and some of his associates took over the road which was rechar tered as the Missouri Pacific and of which he was vice-president until 1877, removing in 1872 to New York. He became a member of the Indian Commission in 1873 and his interest and influence in public affairs steadily increased. He became especially active in the affairs of the Methodist Church. In politics he was a member of the Republican party for many years, but finally left it and joined in 1884 the Prohibition party, running as its candidate for the gov ernorship of New Jersey in 1886, and for the presidency in 1888, receiving about 250,000 votes at the latter occasion. Consult Hopkins, A. A., 'The Life of C. B. Fisk' (New York 1888).