James Westcott

James Diament Westcott Jr. (May 10, 1802 – January 19, 1880) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as the first Class 3 United States Senator from Florida from 1845 to 1849.

Westcott was born in Alexandria, DC where his father, James Sr., was transitioning from newspaper publisher to politician.

In 1832, Westcott ran afoul of a short-tempered fellow lawyer and Kentucky native, Thomas Baltzell.

When the gunfire was over, Westcott was injured but survived while Baltzell escaped unharmed and eventually became a Florida Supreme Court chief justice.

The younger Westcott left most of his estate to what is now Florida State University which, in turn, eventually named its main administration building in Tallahassee in his honor.