Williams, John, 1731-1799

John Williams (March 14, 1731 – October 10, 1799) was a Founding Father of the United States and signer of its Articles of Confederation. He was one of the founders of the University of North Carolina. During the American Revolutionary War, Williams was a colonel in the North Carolina militia. In 1777 and 1778, he was a member of the North Carolina House of Commons and served as Speaker of the House. Williams was a member of the Continental Congress in 1778 and 1779.

Williams served as a superior court judge both during the colonial era and after the new state of North Carolina was established in 1776. Sitting alongside other superior court judges as part of a Court of Conference (forerunner to the North Carolina Supreme Court), Williams heard the landmark case, Bayard v. Singleton, which announced the principle of judicial review on the state level before Marbury v. Madison did so on the federal level.

Williams died at Montpelier, his plantation near Williamsboro, North Carolina, and was interred in the family cemetery there.