born May 16, 1801, Florida, N.Y., U.S.
died Oct. 10, 1872, Auburn, N.Y.
U.S. politician.
He served in the New York state senate (183034) and as governor (183943). In the U.S. Senate (184961), he was an antislavery leader in the Whig and Republican parties. A close adviser to Pres. Abraham Lincoln , he served as U.S. secretary of state (186169). He helped prevent foreign recognition of the Confederacy and obtained settlement in the Trent Affair . In 1865 he was stabbed by a conspirator of John Wilkes Booth but recovered. He is best remembered for successfully negotiating the Alaska Purchase (1867), which critics called Seward's Folly.