Dana, Francis, 1743-1811

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Francis Dana (June 13, 1743 – April 25, 1811) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, jurist, and statesman from Massachusetts. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1778 and 1784. He signed the Articles of Confederation.

Born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, Dana was educated at Harvard before reading law, being admitted to the bar, and commencing practice in Boston. Being an opponent of the British colonial policy, he became a leader of the Sons of Liberty and was first elected to Massachusetts' provincial (revolutionary) Congress in 1774. In 1775 the Continental Congress dispatched him to England in an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the differences leading to the Revolutionary War. He returned the following year, convinced that a friendly settlement of the dispute was impossible, and was elected a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1777, where he signed the Articles of Confederation in 1778.

Dana left the Congress to accompany John Adams to Paris as a secretary to the diplomatic delegation. In 1780, he was named as American minister to the Russian Empire, and while he never gained official recognition from Catherine the Great, he remained in Saint Petersburg until 1783. After his return, he was again elected to the national Congress in 1784. In 1785, Dana was appointed to the Supreme Court of Massachusetts and served there until 1806 as the chief justice after 1791. Dana generally retired from public life in 1806; after his death in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dana was buried in Cambridge's Old Burying Ground.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Dana family. Dana family financial records, 1757-1929 (inclusive), 1767-1811 (bulk). Houghton Library
creatorOf Dana, Francis, 1743-1811. Receipt signed, 1793 Apr. 12. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Benjamin Franklin Papers Part 6 -- Letters to Franklin, 1781-1782 American Philosophical Society
creatorOf Dana, Francis, 1743-1811. Autograph marginal notes. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Elbridge Gerry Papers, 1772-1901, (bulk 1776-1814) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
creatorOf Dana, Francis, 1743-1811. Document, signed, 1777 Aug. 29. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Harvard University. Mathematical theses, 1782-1839 Harvard University Archives.
referencedIn Benjamin Franklin Papers Part 5 -- Letters to Franklin, 1779 December-1780 December American Philosophical Society
referencedIn Keith, Israel, 1750-1819. Letter to Francis Dana, 1777 December 25. American Periodical Series I
creatorOf Adams, John, 1735-1826. Autograph letter signed : Paris, to Francis Dana, 1782 Dec. 6. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Thomas Addis Emmet collection, 1483-1876 (bulk:1700-1800) New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
creatorOf Taft, Henry W. (Henry Walbridge), 1818-1904. Henry W. Taft autograph collection, 1759-1904. Massachusetts Historical Society
referencedIn Sparks, Jared, 1789-1866. Jared Sparks collection of American manuscripts, 1582-1843 Houghton Library
referencedIn Benjamin Franklin Papers Part 13 -- Miscellaneous Franklin Materials, 1640-1791 American Philosophical Society
referencedIn Adams, John, 1735-1826. Letter : Paris, to Mr. Grand, 1780 Feb. 29. University of Chicago Library
referencedIn Frederick M. Dearborn collection of military and political Americana, Part I: The Revolution and the Administration, 1669-1958. Houghton Library
creatorOf Keith, Israel, 1751-1819. Papers, 1767-1803. Massachusetts Historical Society
referencedIn Houghton Library printed book provenance file, A-D Houghton Library
creatorOf Dana, Francis, 1742-1811. Letter 1804 March 26 [n.p.], to S. Elliott [n.p.]. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Adams, John, 1735-1826. Letter : Paris, to Mr. Grand, [ca. 1780] Feb. 29. Texas Christian University
creatorOf Keith, Israel, 1750-1819. Papers, 1767-1803. New York State Library
creatorOf Gerry, Elbridge, 1744-1814. Elbridge Gerry papers, 1772-1936, bulk: 1772-1814. Massachusetts Historical Society
referencedIn Blount, William, 1749-1800. Letter : Philadelphia, Pa., to John Sevier, Knoxville, Ky., 1797 June 1. University of Chicago Library
referencedIn Edmond Charles Genet Papers, 1734-1895, (bulk 1789-1793) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Harvard University Archives Photograph Collection: Portraits, ca. 1852-ca. 2004 Harvard University Archives.
referencedIn William Temple Franklin Papers, 1775-1819 American Philosophical Society
creatorOf Dana family. Dana family papers, 1654-1950 bulk 1770-1931. Massachusetts Historical Society
referencedIn Austin, Loring. Loring Austin letters discussing commerical ventures in Archangel, Russia 1811-12. University of California, San Diego, UC San Diego Library; UCSD Library
referencedIn Blount, William, 1749-1800. Letter : Philadelphia, Pa., to John Sevier, Knoxville, Tenn., 1797 June 1. Texas Christian University
referencedIn Dana family financial records, 1757-1929 (inclusive) 1767-1811 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Dana, George Hazen, 1837-1919. George Hazen Dana papers [manuscript] 1858-1914. University of Virginia. Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Adams, John, 1735-1826. person
associatedWith Austin, Loring. person
associatedWith Blount, William, 1749-1800. person
memberOf Dana family. family
ancestorOf Dana, George Hazen, 1837-1919. person
childOf Dana, Richard, 1700-1772. person
associatedWith Dearborn, Frederick M. (Frederick Myers), b. 1876 person
associatedWith Elliott, S. person
associatedWith Emmet, Thomas Addis person
associatedWith Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790 person
associatedWith Franklin, William, 1731-1813 person
correspondedWith Genet, Edmond Charles, 1763-1834. person
correspondedWith Gerry, Elbridge, 1744-1814. person
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Harvard University corporateBody
associatedWith Houghton Library. corporateBody
associatedWith Keith, Israel, 1751-1819. person
memberOf Massachusetts. Supreme Judicial Court corporateBody
associatedWith Sparks, Jared, 1789-1866 person
associatedWith Taft, Henry W. (Henry Walbridge), 1818-1904. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Saint Petersburg 66 RU
Cambridge MA US
Charlestown MA US
Boston MA US
Subject
Male authors, American
Occupation
Ambassadors
Delegates, U.S. Continental Congress
Diplomats
Jurists
Lawyers
State Supreme Court Judge
Activity

Person

Birth 1743-06-13

Death 1811-04-25

Male

Americans,

Britons

English

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