Yates, RICHARD (1818-1873), an American political leader, born in Warsaw, Ky., but taken in childhood to Springfield, Ill. He graduated at Illinois College in Jacksonville and began the practice of law at Springfield, where he became a prominent Whig. He was elected to the state legislature, serving from 1842 to 1849, and he was a member of Congress from 1851 to 1855. He became a Republican at the organization of the party and was elected governor of Illinois in 1860. During five years' service, he gained fame as one of the greatest of the war governors and was a close friend and adviser of President Lincoln. In 1865 he was elected to the United States Senate, where he served one term. His son, Richard Yates (1860- ), was governor of Illinois from 1901 to 1905.