Milton Slocum Latham (May 23, 1827 - March 4, 1882) was Governor of California for five days: January 9-January 14, 1860. A Democrat, he resigned after appointing himself to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate. Latham was principally a railroad baron who, in addition to his brief tenure as Governor, also sat as a Senator and Congressman. He was born in 1827 in Columbus, Ohio and died in New York City in 1882. In 1872, Latham bought and began renovating a 50-room Menlo Park mansion called Thurlow Lodge as a gift to his bride, only for the estate to burn down before completion. Nevertheless, it was entirely rebuilt in 1873. In 1874 Latham commissioned Carleton Watkins to photograph the huge estate and produce two presentation albums of mammoth plate prints.
