Hutson, Richard, 1748-1795

Richard Hutson (July 9, 1748 – April 12, 1795) was a Founding Father of the United States and an American lawyer, judge, and politician from Charleston, South Carolina. After having been educated in Charleston as a child, he attended Princeton. After studying law, Hutson was admitted to the bar and practiced in Charleston.

From 1776 to 1779 and in 1781, 1782, 1785, and 1788, Hutson served as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. In 1778 and 1779, he represented South Carolina as a delegate to the Continental Congress, where he signed the Articles of Confederation. After the British captured Charleston in 1780, he was held as a prisoner at St. Augustine, Florida, for a time. After he returned home, he served as the eighth lieutenant governor of South Carolina under Governor John Mathews in 1782 and 1783. On September 11, 1783, Hutson was elected the first intendant (mayor) of Charleston. He was re-elected on September 13, 1784, winning against Alexander Gillon by a vote of 387 to 127. After his time as intendant of Charleston, he was one of the first three chancellors of the Court of Equity of South Carolina.

After his death in Charleston, he was buried in a vault at the Independent Congregational (Circular) Churchyard in Charleston.