Deaths on November 19

William Nelson (governor)

Died on November 19, 1772

William Nelson, American politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1711)

William Nelson (1711 – November 19, 1772) was an American planter, politician, and colonial leader from Yorktown, Virginia. In the interim between the royal governors Norborne Berkeley and Lord Dunmore, he served as governor of colonial Virginia in 1770 and 1771.Nelson was the son of Thomas "Scotch Tom" Nelson, the immigrant ancestor from Cumbria, who built Nelson House at his plantation in about 1730.In the years leading up to the American Revolution, Nelson was an active supporter of the Patriot cause. Among his children was his son, Thomas Nelson Jr., who was active in revolutionary politics, one of thirteen representatives who drafted the Articles of Confederation, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and a future governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the new United States of America.

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Events on 1772

9 Jun

Gaspee Affair
The British schooner Gaspee is burned in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island.
21 Aug

Swedish Constitution of 1772
King Gustav III completes his coup d'état by adopting a new Constitution, ending half a century of parliamentary rule in Sweden and installing himself as an enlightened despot.