Christopher Memminger
Christopher Gustavus Memminger (; January 9, 1803 – March 7, 1888) was a German-born American politician and a secessionist who participated in the formation of the Confederate States government. He was the principal author of the Provisional Constitution (1861), as well as the founder of the Confederate financial system. As the first Confederate States Secretary of the Treasury, Memminger was the principal author of the economic policies of Jefferson Davis's administration. Early life and career Christopher Gustavus Memminger was born on January 9, 1803, in Vaihingen, Wuerttemberg (present-day Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany). His father, Gottfried Memminger, was a military officer who died a month after his son's birth. His mother, Eberhardina (née Kohler) Memminger, immigrated to Charleston, South Carolina, but died of yellow fever in 1807. Christopher was placed in an orphanage. His fortunes changed when, at the age of eleven, he was taken under the care of Thomas Bennett, a prominent lawyer and future Governor. He entered South Carolina College at the age of 12 and graduated second in his class at 16. Memminger passed the bar in 1825 and became a successful lawyer. He married Mary Withers Wilkinson in 1832. He was a leader of the opponents during the Nullification