Paca, William, 1740-1799

William Paca (October 31, 1740 – October 13, 1799) was a Founding Father of the United States who was a signatory to the Continental Association and the United States Declaration of Independence. He was a Maryland delegate to the First Continental Congress and the Second Continental Congress, Governor of Maryland, and a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.

Born in Abingdon, Maryland, Paca entered school at the Philadelphia Academy and Charity School in 1752, and went on to attend the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania), earning Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees there. He also attended the Inner Temple in London, England and read law in 1761 and was admitted to the bar that year. Paca entered private practice in Annapolis, Province of Maryland, starting in 1763.

Paca was a member of the lower house of the Maryland Proprietary Assembly from 1767 to 1774. He was a delegate to the First Continental Congress and the Second Continental Congress from Maryland from 1774 to 1779. He was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776. He was a member of the Maryland Senate from 1776 to 1777, and from 1778 to 1780. He was a Judge of the Maryland General Court in 1778. He was a Judge of the Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture from 1780 to 1782. He was Governor of Maryland from 1782 to 1785. He was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates in 1786. He was influential in establishing Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland in 1786. He was a delegate to the Maryland State Convention of 1788, to vote whether Maryland should ratify the proposed Constitution of the United States.

Paca received a recess appointment from President George Washington on December 22, 1789, to the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. He was nominated to the same position by President Washington on February 8, 1790. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 10, 1790, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on October 13, 1799, due to his death at his estate of Wye River, in Queen Anne's County, Maryland and was interred in a family cemetery on the estate.