William Paterson (jurist)
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William Paterson (December 24, 1745–September 9, 1806) was a New Jersey statesman, a signer of the United States Constitution and Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, who served as the 2nd Governor of New Jersey, from 1790 to 1793.
William Paterson was born on December 24 in County Antrim, now in Northern Ireland, moved to the United States at age 2, and entered Princeton University at age 14. After graduating he studied law with the prominent lawyer Richard Stockton and was admitted to the bar in 1768.
Paterson became an outspoken supporter of American independence. He was selected as Somerset County, New Jersey, delegate for the first three provincial congresses of New Jersey, where as secretary he recorded the 1776 New Jersey State Constitution.
After Independence, Paterson was appointed as the first Attorney General of New Jersey, serving from 1776-1783, maintaining law and order and establishing himself as one of the state's most prominent lawyers. He was sent to the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia where he proposed the New Jersey Plan for a unicameral legislative body with equal representation from each state. After the Great Compromise (for two legislative bodies: a Senate with equal representation for each state, and a House of Representatives with representation based on population), the Constitution was signed.
He served as Governor of New Jersey and in the New Jersey Senate, where he oversaw the revision and codification of the entire state legal system. George Washington appointed him associate justice of the United States Supreme Court in 1793, where he served until his death on September 9, 1806, in Albany, New York.
Paterson, New Jersey and William Paterson University are named after him.
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