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History and Government—Congressional Biographies—MarylandThomas JOHNSON
(1732-1819)
JOHNSON, Thomas, a
Delegate from Maryland; born near the mouth of St. Leonards Creek,
Calvert County, Md., November 4, 1732; at an early age moved to
Annapolis, Md.; studied law; was admitted to the bar; entered the
provincial assembly as a delegate from Anne Arundel County in 1762;
member of the committee of correspondence and of the council of
safety; assisted in organizing the Potomac Co. for improving the
navigation of the Potomac River; a member of the Annapolis
Convention of June 1774; Member of the Continental Congress
1774-1776; nominated George Washington as commander in chief of the
American forces June 15, 1775; delegate to the first constitutional
convention of Maryland in 1776; served in the Revolutionary War as
senior brigadier general of Maryland Militia; first Governor of
Maryland 1777-1779; moved to Frederick County, Md.; member of the
Maryland house of delegates in 1780, 1786, and 1787; member of the
Maryland convention for ratification of the Federal Constitution in
1788; chief judge of the general court of Maryland in 1790 and
1791; appointed by President Washington the first United States
judge for the district of Maryland in September 1789 but declined;
appointed Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court in
1791 to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John Rutledge
and served until February 1793, when he resigned on account of ill
health; declined a Cabinet portfolio of Secretary of State tendered
by President Washington August 24, 1795; appointed by President
John Adams chief judge of the Territory of Columbia February 28,
1801; member of the Board of Commissioners of the Federal City;
died at “Rose Hill,” Frederick, Md., October 26, 1819;
interment in All Saints’ Episcopal Churchyard; reinterment in
Mount Olivet Cemetery, Frederick, Md.
Bibliography
Delaplaine, Edward. The Life of Thomas Johnson. New York: F.
H. Hitchcock, 1927.
Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present
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