Home > Richard Henry Lee

Lee was born in Stratford , Westmoreland County, Virginia on January 20, 1732. He was sent to England and educated at the academy of Wakefield in Yorkshire. In 1752Events February 11 Pennsylvania Hospital, the first hospital in the US, is opened. March 23 The Halifax Gazette the first Canadian newspaper June 15 Benjamin Franklin proves that lightning is electricity (kite + key + lightning) September 14 The British E he returned to VirginiaVirginia is one of the original 13 states of the United States that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution and is generally classified as part of the South. Its official name is the Commonwealth of Virginia it is one of four Commonwealth, where he began to practice law.

In 1757Events March 14 On-board the HMS Monarch Admiral John Byng is executed by firing squad for neglecting his duty. June 23 Indian Mutiny: Battle of Plassey 3000 British troops under Robert Clive defeat a 50,000 strong Indian army under Siraj-ud-Dawlah at Pla he was appointed justice of the peace for Westmoreland County. In 1761Events January 16 British capture Pondicherry, India from the French. February 8 Earthquake in London breaks chimneys in Limehouse and Poplar March 8 Second earthquake in North London, Hampstead and Highgate In Dutch Guayana a “state” formed by escaped sl he was elected to the Virginia House of BurgessesThe House of Burgesses was the name given to the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. The House of Burgesses, over time, came to represent the official legislative body of the colony of Virginia, and later, the Commonwealth of Virginia., where he remained until 1788Events January 1 First edition of The Times previously The Daily Universal Register was published. January 2 Georgia ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 4th U. January 9 Connecticut ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes t. An early advocate of independence, he became one of the first to create Committees of Correspondence among the many independence-minded Americans in the various colonies.

In August, 1774, Lee was chosen as a delegate to the first Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1775 he became a Colonel of militia in Westmoreland County. It was Lee who put forth the motion in the Continental Congress to create a Declaration of Independence. Due to Lee's absence from the Congress because of his wife's illness, it was Thomas Jefferson who was chosen to write the Declaration.

He opposed creation of the United States Constitution as creating too powerful a central government. It was through his urgings that the Tenth Amendment, reserving all unlisted powers to the people, was created. Lee was elected by the state legislature of Virginia to be one of its first two United States Senators, but he was forced to resign in 1792 due to ill health.

He died at his home, Chantilly, in Westmoreland County on June 19, 1794. He is buried in Burnt House Field Cemetery, Mount Pleasant, near Hague, Virginia, Westmoreland, Virginia.