Ohio Governor, U.S. Congressman, Lawyer, Civil War Union Army Veteran. Born in Middletown, Ohio, James Edwin Campbell attended Miami University at Oxford, Ohio until he volunteered to serve for the Union during the Civil War. He entered the service with the U.S. Navy on November 29, 1863 and was assigned to the Mississippi Squadron. He participated in the Red River Campaign in 1864 until he was taken ill with fever and was honorably discharged on September 24, 1864. He returned to Ohio and studied law while teaching school. Admitted to the bar in 1865, he became a deputy collector of Internal Revenue until he commenced to practice as an attorney in Hamilton, Butler County, Ohio in 1867. Campbell was elected as Prosecuting Attorney of Butler County and served from 1876 to 1880. In the Ohio Congressional Election of 1883, he initially lost to Henry L. Morey and was able to successfully contest the results of the election that culminated in his taking a seat to represent Ohio's 7th District on June 20, 1884. He was reelected twice and became Chairman for the Committee on Alcoholic Liquor Traffic from 1885 to 1887. He served in Congress from 1884 to 1889 and was not a candidate for reelection in 1888. Campbell was elected as Ohio's 38th Governor and served from 1890 to 1892. He defeated incumbent Joseph B. Foraker in the gubernatorial election of 1889 despite strong Republican opposition. As Governor, he restored home rule to Ohio's cities in an attempt to clean up corruption from the previous administration. During his term, Ohio became one of the first states to recognize Labor Day as a holiday. Campbell was also involved with passing laws to benefit Ohio workers and for the introduction of the Australian Ballot System with secret ballots in 1891. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1891 and again in 1895 and 1906. Campbell served on the Commission to Codify State Laws from 1907 to 1910. He resumed his legal profession in Columbus, Ohio in 1911 and was also a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1892, 1912, 1920, and 1924. He was a member of the Ohio Branch of the Council of National Defense during World War I. He died in Columbus, Ohio in 1924 when he was 81 years old. State Route 4 between Hamilton and Middletown in Ohio is named for him as the "Governor James E. Campbell Bicentennial Roadway." His uncle, Lewis Davis Campbell, was a U.S. Congressman.