Morris Burke Belknap

Morris B. Belknap
Portrait of Belknap from Johnson's A History of Kentucky and Kentuckians (1912)
Born	Morris Burke Belknap (1856-06-07)June 7, 1856 Louisville, Kentucky
Died	April 13, 1910(1910-04-13) (aged 53)
Cause of death	Pernicious anemia
Resting place	Cave Hill Cemetery
Alma mater	Sheffield Scientific School (Yale University)
Occupation	Businessman
Known for	Vice-president of Belknap Hardware and Manufacturing Company; nominee for Governor of Kentucky
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Lily Buckner (m. 1883; d. 1893) Marion S. Dumont (m. 1900)
Children	4
Parent(s)	William Burke Belknap and Mary (Richardson) Belknap
Relatives	Son-in-law of Simon Bolivar Buckner
Signature

Morris Burke Belknap (June 7, 1856 – April 13, 1910), also known as Colonel Morris Burke Belknap, was a businessman from Louisville, Kentucky, who was the Republican nominee for Governor of Kentucky in 1903. After earning a degree from the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University, he worked at his father's hardware company. Later, he co-founded an agricultural implement company. In 1883, he married Lily Buckner, with whom he fathered four children. Following the death of his father, Belknap became vice-president of his hardware company, a position which he held for the rest of his life. Lily Buckner Belknap died in 1893, and he married Marion S. Dumont in 1900.

In addition to his business career. Belknap served in the Kentucky State Guard, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1898, during the Spanish–American War, he served briefly in Puerto Rico prior to the end of hostilities. He was promoted to colonel before his honorable discharge in 1899.

In 1903, Belknap accepted the nomination for state governor after being chosen at the Kentucky Republican convention in that year. He campaigned on his business experience and opposition to policies of the current governor, but he was ultimately defeated by the incumbent J. C. W. Beckham.

After his unsuccessful gubernatorial run, he spent his later life involved in a variety of civil and religious organizations. On April 13, 1910, he died of pernicious anemia, a condition which is believed to have been worsened by a mysterious ailment he contracted while in Puerto Rico.

Belknap was born at his parents' home in Louisville, Kentucky, on June 7, 1856. He was the youngest child of William Burke and Mary (Richardson) Belknap. Until the age of 17, he was educated in the private school of Benjamin B. Huntoon. In 1873, he and his brother, William Richardson Belknap (1849–1914), spent a year traveling in Europe. On his return, he enrolled in the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University, where he was a classmate of future U.S. President William Howard Taft. He earned his degree in 1877, but spent an additional year of postgraduate study in chemistry.