Winthrop (Robert C.) is born in Boston.

A descendant of Gov. John Winthrop, Robert Winthrop graduates from Harvard College, studies law with Daniel Webster, and becomes a lawyer. A Whig, he serves in the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1835-40), the U.S. House of Representatives (1840-50), where he serves as Speaker of the House, and in the U.S. Senate (1850-51). A moderate on slavery, he is a strong proponent of American expansionism and popularizes the term “manifest destiny.” Winthrop lives at 90 Marlborough Street, becomes a philanthropist, and serves as president of the Massachusetts Historical Society for 30 years. He dies in Boston on November 16, 1894, and is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery.