William Paterson (jurist)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
William Paterson
William Paterson (jurist)

In office
1790 – 1793
Preceded by Elisha Lawrence
Succeeded by Thomas Henderson

Born December 24, 1745
County Antrim, Ireland
Died September 9, 1806 (aged 60)
Evensdale, Pennsylvania

William Paterson (December 24, 1745September 9, 1806) was a New Jersey statesman, a signer of the United States Constitution, and Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, who served as the 2nd governor of New Jersey, from 1790 to 1793.

William Paterson was born on December 24, 1745, in County Antrim, in Ireland, moved to what is the United States at age 2, and entered the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) at age 14. After graduating, he studied law with the prominent lawyer Richard Stockton and was admitted to the bar in 1768.

Paterson became an outspoken supporter of American independence. He was selected as Somerset County, New Jersey delegate for the first three provincial congresses of New Jersey, where as secretary he recorded the 1776 New Jersey State Constitution.

After Independence, Paterson was appointed as the first Attorney General of New Jersey, serving from 1776-1783, maintaining law and order and establishing himself as one of the state's most prominent lawyers. He was sent to the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he proposed the New Jersey Plan for a unicameral legislative body with equal representation from each state. After the Great Compromise (for two legislative bodies: a Senate with equal representation for each state, and a House of Representatives with representation based on population), the Constitution was signed.

He served as Governor of New Jersey and in the New Jersey Senate, where he oversaw the revision and codification of the entire state legal system. George Washington appointed him associate justice of the United States Supreme Court in 1793, where he served until his death on September 9, 1806 in Albany, New York, aged 60. He is buried in Albany Rural Cemetery in Albany.

Paterson, New Jersey, and William Paterson University are named after him.

Preceded by
Office created
New Jersey Attorney General
1776–1783
Succeeded by
Joseph Bloomfield
Preceded by
Office created
United States Senator (Class 2) from New Jersey
1789–1790
Served alongside: Jonathan Elmer
Succeeded by
Philemon Dickinson
Preceded by
Elisha Lawrence
Governor of New Jersey
1790–1793
Succeeded by
Thomas Henderson
Preceded by
Thomas Johnson
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
March 11, 1793September 9, 1806
Succeeded by
Henry Brockholst Livingston
The Supreme Court of the United States
Seal of the U.S. Supreme Court
The Jay Court
1793–1795: J. Wilson | Wm. Cushing | J. Blair | J. Iredell | Wm. Paterson
The Rutledge Court
1795: J. Wilson | Wm. Cushing | J. Blair | J. Iredell | Wm. Paterson
The Ellsworth Court
1796–1798: J. Wilson | Wm. Cushing | J. Iredell | Wm. Paterson | S. Chase
1798–February 1799: Wm. Cushing | J. Iredell | Wm. Paterson | S. Chase
February–October 1799: Wm. Cushing | J. Iredell | Wm. Paterson | S. Chase | B. Washington
October 1799–April 1800: Wm. Cushing | Wm. Paterson | S. Chase | B. Washington
April–December 1800: Wm. Cushing | Wm. Paterson | S. Chase | B. Washington | A. Moore
The Marshall Court
1801–1804: Wm. Cushing | Wm. Paterson | S. Chase | B. Washington | A. Moore
1804–1806: Wm. Cushing | Wm. Paterson | S. Chase | B. Washington | Wm. Johnson
Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.