William Richardson Davie
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William Richardson Davie (20 June 1756 -- 18 November 1820) was the Federalist governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1798 to 1799.
Davie was born in Cumberland County, England; he came to North America with his uncle, William Richardson, in 1763. Davie was educated at Queen's Museum College in Charlotte and at the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University), graduating in 1776.
After graduation, Davie led a company of student volunteers in the Continental Army of George Washington; he then returned to North Carolina, studying law in Salisbury before joining the state militia in 1777.
Davie was promoted to the rank of major in the militia and fought in the Battle of Stono. He returned to legal studies and received his law license in 1780 but came back to the service in 1781, defending the city of Charlotte agains the British forces under Gen. Cornwallis.
Davie rose to prominence in North Carolina as a traveling circuit court lawyer and orator; he was elected to the North Carolina House of Commons on multiple occasions through the 1780s and 1790s. He served as a member of the United States' Constitutional Convention of 1787 and argued (unsuccessfully) for its passage at the North Carolina State Conventions in 1788 and 1789.
Davie was remained active in the state militia and in the newly formed United States Army; he served in the state militia during the 1797 crisis with France and was appointed brigadier general in the U.S. Army by President John Adams. During the later War of 1812, Davie served in the army as well.
Davie was elected North Carolina Governor in 1798; during his administration, the state settled boundary disputes with South Carolina and Tennessee to the west.
As a member of the North Carolina General Assembly, Davie had sponsored the bill which chartered the University of North Carolina; he is recognized as the university's founder and served on its baord fo trustees from 1789 to 1807, including a term as its president in 1798. Davie also received the institution's first honorary degree in 1811, an LL.D.
In 1806 Davie retired to his estate in South Carolina; he died there in 1820.
Sources
- Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Robert Sobel and John Raimo, eds. Westport, CT: Meckler Books, 1978. (ISBN 0-930466-00-4)
| Preceded by: Samuel Ashe | Governor of North Carolina 1798-1799 | Succeeded by: Benjamin Williams |