Given the question: Facts: - profession: politician , lawyer - death place: washington , d.c. - order: 5th 2nd secretary of state of california - successor: samuel medary joseph c. mckibbin charles h. hempstead - party: democratic - death date: 9 august 1892 - predecessor: robert j. walker milton s. latham william van voohies - office: territorial governor of kansas - district: at-large - term end: november 1858 march 3 , 1857 1855 - term start: december 1857 march 4 , 1855 1853 - state: california - name: james w. denver - birth date: october 23 , 1817 - image: james w denver by whitehurst studio c1856.jpg - birth place: winchester , virginia Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of james w. denver .
The answer is:
james william '' jim '' denver -lrb- october 23 , 1817 -- august 9 , 1892 -rrb- was an american politician , soldier , lawyer .he served in the california state government , as an officer in the united states army in two wars , and as a democratic member of the united states house of representatives from california .he served as secretary and governor of the kansas territory during the struggle over whether or not kansas would be open to slavery .the city of denver , colorado , is named after him .