William Paterson

William Paterson lived from December 24, 1745 to September 9, 1806 and was an American statesman, lawyer, jurist and signer of the United States Constitution who served as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, as the second governor of New Jersey, and as a founding father of the United States. Born in County Antrim, Ireland, he moved to the American colonies as a young child, graduated from the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, studied law under Richard Stockton, and was admitted to the bar in 1768. He helped write New Jerseys 1776 constitution and served as the states attorney general from 1776 to 1783, then represented New Jersey at the 1787 Constitutional Convention, where he proposed the New Jersey Plan calling for equal representation among the states in Congress. After ratification he served in the United States Senate from 1789 to 1790, helping draft the Judiciary Act of 1789, resigned to become governor of New Jersey, and in 1793 accepted appointment by President George Washington as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, serving until his death in 1806.