Lee, Richard Henry, 1732-1794
Name Entries
person
Lee, Richard Henry, 1732-1794
Computed Name Heading
Name Components
Surname :
Lee
Forename :
Richard Henry
Date :
1732-1794
eng
Latn
authorizedForm
rda
Genders
Male
Exist Dates
Biographical History
Richard Henry Lee (January 20, 1732 – June 19, 1794) was an American statesman and Founding Father from Virginia, best known for the June 1776 Lee Resolution, the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence from Great Britain leading to the United States Declaration of Independence, which he signed. He also served a one-year term as the president of the Continental Congress, was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation, and was a United States Senator from Virginia from 1789 to 1792, serving during part of that time as the second president pro tempore of the upper house. He was a member of the Lee family, a historically influential family in Virginia politics.
Born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, Lee spent most of his early life in Stratford, Virginia, at Stratford Hall. Here he was tutored and taught in a variety of skills. To develop his political career, his father sent him around to neighboring planters with the intention for Lee to become associated with neighboring men of like prominence. In 1748, at 16, Lee left Virginia for Yorkshire, England, to complete his formal education at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield. Both of his parents died in 1750 and, in 1753, after touring Europe, he returned to Virginia to help his brothers settle the estate his parents had left behind.
In 1757, Lee was appointed justice of the peace in Westmoreland County. In 1758, he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, where he met Patrick Henry. An early advocate of independence, Lee became one of the first to create Committees of correspondence among the many independence-minded Americans in the various colonies. In August 1774, Lee was chosen as a delegate to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Lee had returned to Virginia by the time Congress voted on and adopted the Declaration of Independence, but he signed the document when he returned to Congress.
Lee was elected sixth president of Congress under the Articles of Confederation on November 30, 1784, in the French Arms Tavern, Trenton, New Jersey. Congress convened on January 11, 1785, in the old New York City Hall, with Lee presiding until November 23, 1785. In 1789, Lee was elected as one of the first two United States Senators from Virginia, serving as president pro tempore from April 1792 until his resignation from the Senate six months later due to illness. Lee died on June 19, 1794, at the age of 62.
eng
Latn
External Related CPF
https://id.loc.gov/authorities/n50039714
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10582957
https://viaf.org/viaf/47668633
https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n50039714
https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q725907
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Languages Used
eng
Latn
Subjects
1778-1927
Slavery
Actions and defenses
Executors and administrators
American Revolution
Ash Lawn (Virginia : Estate)
Boundaries, State
Canadian Invasion, 1775-1776
Card weaving
Carleton's Invasion, 1776
Commerce
Constitutional history
Debt, Imprisonment for
Debts, Public
Decedents' estates
Early National Politics
Foreign ministers
Governor
Military history
Legilslators
Money
Non-importation agreements, 1768-1769
Ordnance
Plantation owners
Plantations
Political corruption
Real property
Shipbuilding
Slaves
Slaves
Stamp act, 1765
Tobacco
War, Cost of
Weaving
Wills
Nationalities
Americans
Britons
Activities
Occupations
Delegates, U.S. Continental Congress
Justices of the peace
Militia officers
Senators, U.S. Congress
Statesmen
Legal Statuses
Places
United States
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Westmoreland County
VA, US
AssociatedPlace
Birth
Westmoreland County
VA, US
AssociatedPlace
Death
New York City
NY, US
AssociatedPlace
Residence
Wakefield
ENG, GB
AssociatedPlace
Residence
Convention Declarations
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