James Smith, Irish-American lawyer and politician (b. 1719)
James Smith (September 17, 1719 – July 11, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was an Irish/American lawyer and a signer to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Pennsylvania.
He was born in Ireland; his family immigrated to Chester County, Pennsylvania, in 1729. Smith attended the Philadelphia Academy. He studied law at the office of his brother George and was admitted to the bar in Pennsylvania, initially practicing near Shippensburg and later near York. He became captain of the militia there. He was appointed to the provincial convention in Philadelphia in 1775, to the state constitutional convention in 1776, and was elected to the Continental Congress. He was reelected to Congress in 1785 but declined to attend because of his advanced age.
Smith died on July 11, 1806, and is buried in York, Pennsylvania, First Presbyterian Churchyard. The University of Delaware has a dormitory on its North Campus bearing his name.
1806Jul, 11
James Smith (delegate)
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Events on 1806
- 23Mar
Corps of Discovery
After traveling through the Louisiana Purchase and reaching the Pacific Ocean, explorers Lewis and Clark and their "Corps of Discovery" begin their arduous journey home. - 27Jun
British invasions of the River Plate
British forces take Buenos Aires during the first British invasions of the River Plate. - 12Aug
British invasions of the River Plate
Santiago de Liniers, 1st Count of Buenos Aires re-takes the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina after the first British invasion. - 8Oct
Congreve rocket
Napoleonic Wars: Forces of the British Empire lay siege to the port of Boulogne in France by using Congreve rockets, invented by Sir William Congreve. - 9Oct
War of the Fourth Coalition
Prussia begins the War of the Fourth Coalition against France.