Benjamin Bourne

Paper cutting by Benjamin Bourne

Benjamin Bourne (born September 9, 1755 in Bristol , Colony of Rhode Island , †  September 17, 1808 ibid) was an American lawyer and politician . Between 1790 and 1796 he represented the state of Rhode Island in the US House of Representatives ; he then became a federal judge in the federal district court for the district of Rhode Island.

Career

Benjamin Bourne was born a British citizen during the colonial days. Until 1775 he studied at Harvard University . After studying law and being admitted to the bar, he began working in his new profession in Providence . In 1776 he became an ensign in a unit of his home state during the War of Independence . After the war he held a number of regional offices. Among other things, he was a justice of the peace and a member of a commission that revised the laws relating to the militia. Politically, he supported Alexander Hamilton and George Washington and later became a member of the Federalist Party .

Between 1789 and 1790 Bourne served in the Rhode Island House of Representatives . After the United States Constitution was passed, he was elected to the first Congress as a member of his state . In the House of Representatives he exercised his mandate between August 31, 1790 and 1796 after several re-elections. He then resigned because President Washington made him a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island . He held this office as the successor to Henry Marchant between October 13, 1796 and February 20, 1801. Between February 1801 and July 1802 he was presiding judge in the first federal judicial district. Benjamin Bourne died in September 1808 in his birthplace Bristol and was buried there.

Web links

• Benjamin Bourne in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Benjamin Bourne in the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges

• Benjamin Bourne in the database of Find a Grave (English)