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Aaron Ogden
5th Governor of New Jersey
In office 1812 – 1813
Preceded by	Joseph Bloomfield
Succeeded by	William Sanford Pennington
Born	December 3, 1756 Elizabeth, New Jersey
Died	April 19, 1839 Jersey City, New Jersey

Aaron Ogden (December 3, 1756-April 19, 1839) was a United States Senator and the 5th Governor of New Jersey.

Ogden was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey (formerly Elizabethtown). He graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1773, and served as tutor in Barber’s Grammar School from 1773-1775. In the American Revolutionary War, Ogden served as a lieutenant, captain, and brigade major. After studying law, Ogden was admitted to the bar in 1784 and commenced practice in Elizabeth.

Ogden served as a presidential elector in the 1796 electoral college that elected John Adams. He was clerk of Essex County from 1785-1803, and was elected as a Federalist to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James Schureman and served from February 28, 1801, to March 3, 1803. He lost his bid for reelection to the Senate in 1802. In 1803, Ogden was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly, where he served until 1812. Ogden was elected trustee of the College of New Jersey (later to become Princeton University) in 1803, a post in which he served until his death. Ogden was elected as Governor of New Jersey in 1812.

Ogden was nominated by President James Madison as major general of the Army in 1813, but declined the appointment. He became engaged in steamboat navigation in 1813, and was defendant in the historic Gibbons v. Ogden case that denied New York State's attempted monopoly on steamboat operation between New York and New Jersey. Ogden moved to Jersey City in 1829 and resumed the practice of law. In 1830, he was appointed as collector of customs and served until his death in Jersey City. Ogden's body is interned at the First Presbyterian Church Burial Ground in Elizabeth.

Ogden's nephew Daniel Haines later also served as Governor of New Jersey.

• List of Governors of New Jersey

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• New Jersey State Library biography for Aaron Ogden (PDF)
• Dead Governors of New Jersey bio for Aaron Ogden

• This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  • Dictionary of American Biography; Baxter, Maurice G.
  • The Steamboat Monopoly: Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1972;
  • Ogden, Aaron. Autobiography of Col. Aaron Ogden, of Elizabethtown. Paterson, NJ: Press Printing & Publishing Co., 1893.

Preceded by James Schureman	United States Senator (Class 1) from New Jersey 1801–1803 Served alongside: Jonathan Dayton	Succeeded by John Condit
Preceded by Joseph Bloomfield	Governor of New Jersey 1812–1813	Succeeded by William S. Pennington

Governors of New Jersey

Livingston • Paterson • Howell • Bloomfield • Ogden • W.S. Pennington • M. Dickerson • Williamson • Vroom • Southard • Seeley • P. Dickerson • W. Pennington • Haines • Stratton • Fort • Price • Newell • Olden • Parker • Ward • Randolph • Bedle • McClellan • Ludlow • Abbett • Green • Werts • Griggs • Voorhees • Murphy • Stokes • Fort • Wilson • Fielder • Edge • Edwards • Silzer • Moore • Larson • Hoffman • Edison • Driscoll • Meyner • Hughes • Cahill • Byrne • Kean • Florio • Whitman • DiFrancesco • McGreevey • Codey • Corzine