Teller, Henry Moore (1830–1914)

US senator. Elected as one of Colorado's first two senators (Republican, 1877–82), he resigned to serve as secretary of the interior under President Chester Arthur (1882–85). He returned to the US Senate (1885–1909), the first three terms as a Republican; his advocacy of bi-metalism – the use of silver as well as gold to back US money – led him to switch to the Democratic Party for his final term.

Teller was born in Granger, New York. He went out to the Colorado Territory during its gold rush period and practised law in Central City (where the main hotel is named for him). Although he introduced the 1898 resolution that led the USA into the Spanish-American War, he opposed the USA pursuing war in the Philippines, and in his later years he supported more progressive social policies.