Zachariah T. Chandler was born on December 10, 1813, in Bedford, New Hampshire.

He was a Detroit mayor, a U.S. Senator, and the Secretary of the Interior under President Ulysses S. Grant’s administration. In 1833, Chandler moved to Detroit and opened a dry goods business. He soon developed a reputation as an anti-slavery activist and contributed money to Detroit’s Underground Railroad operations. In 1851, he became the Mayor of Detroit. He was one of the founders of the Republican Party when it was created in 1854. He identified with the Radical Republicans who opposed the Fugitive Slave Act, supported the abolition of slavery, and later advocated for civil rights for newly freed slaves. In 1857, he became a U.S. Senator until 1875, when he was defeated by the Democratic candidate. The same year he was appointed Secretary of the Interior, a position he held until 1877. In 1879, Chandler was being considered as the Republican candidate for U.S. president in the 1880 election. However, following a speech in Chicago, he died in his hotel room on November 1, 1879.

In 1844, he married Letitia Grace Douglas.