Richard Bennett Hubbard Jr. (November 1, 1832 – July 12, 1901), occasionally referred to by the nickname Jumbo,[1][2] was the 16th governor of Texas from 1876 to 1879 and United States Envoy to Japan from 1885 to 1889.

In the 1856 presidential election, Hubbard supported James Buchanan, who appointed him United States Attorney for the western district of Texas.

Then he started recruiting a unit that would become the 5th (Hubbard's) Texas Infantry Battalion, serving as the commanding officer.

After serving on a military court, Hubbard returned to his regiment in time to participate in the Red River Campaign.

[4] Hubbard's postwar law practice, supplemented by income from real estate and railroad promotion, enabled him to resume his political career by 1872, when he was chosen presidential elector on the Horace Greeley ticket.

Hubbard was subsequently elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1873 and 1876 and succeeded to the governorship on December 1, 1876 when Richard Coke resigned to become a United States Senator.

[4] Hubbard's gubernatorial term was marked by post-Reconstruction financial difficulties, by general lawlessness, and by the fact that the legislature was never in session during his administration.

Japan was emerging from feudalism and dependency and had begun to insist on recognition as a diplomatic equal, a position Hubbard strongly supported.

In 1876 he was chosen Centennial Orator of Texas to represent the state at the World's Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.