What is W. W. Thayer?
{{Infobox_Governor |name= William W. Thayer |caption= |order=6<sup>th</sup> |office= Governor of Oregon |term_start= September 11, 1878 |term_end= September 13, 1882 |lieutenant= <!--Oregon has no Lt. Gov. position--> |predecessor= [[Stephen F. Chadwick]] |successor= [[Zena Ferry Moody|Z.F. Moody]] |birth_date= July 15, 1827 |birth_place= [[Lima, New York]] |death_date= October 15, 1899 |death_place= [[Portland, Oregon]] |spouse= Samantha C. Thayer |profession= [[Lawyer]] |party= [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]] |footnotes= }} '''William Wallace Thayer''' (July 15, 1827 - October 15, 1899) was a [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]] politician active in [[United States of America|U.S.]] states of [[Idaho]] and [[Oregon]]. Most notably, he was the sixth [[Governor of Oregon]] from 1878 to 1882 and [[Chief Justice]] of the [[Oregon Supreme Court]] from 1888 to 1889. ==Background== Thayer was born on a farm near [[Lima, New York]] on July 15, 1827. He received a public education before studying law in college. He was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1851. He then practiced law with his brother in [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]] and later [[Tonawanda, New York|Tonawanda]]. A mining boom in [[Idaho Territory]] caught Thayer's attention in 1860, prompting him to move west. He arrived in [[Corvallis, Oregon]] in 1861, where he joined another brother, Andrew, at his law firm. In 1863, he would finally move to Idaho, setting up his own law firm in [[Lewiston, Idaho|Lewiston]]. ==Political career in Idaho== In 1866, three years after moving to Lewiston, Thayer was elected District Attorney for the Third Judicial District of Idaho Territory. From 1866 until 1867, he moved to [[Boise, Idaho|Boise]] to serve for a session of the Idaho Territory House of Representatives. He moved to [[Portland, Oregon]] shortly after leaving the legislature. ==Early political career in Oregon== Upon returning to Oregon, Thayer establuished a sucessful law firm in the city of East Portland. At this time, he became