Richard Howly

Richard Howly

Richard Howly (born around 1740 in Liberty County , Province of Georgia , † December 1784 in Savannah , Georgia) was an American politician and governor of Georgia.

resume

Howly enjoyed an academic education and then studied law. After his admission to the bar, he opened a law firm in St. Johns. At the same time he was also active as a rice planter. In the middle of the Revolutionary War he moved to St. Pauls, also in Georgia. From 1779 he was politically active. Until 1783 he was a member of the Georgia Parliament and in 1780, in a politically tense situation, he became governor of Georgia for a short time. He replaced George Walton . At that time Georgia was partially occupied by the British and chaos reigned in the unoccupied part of the country. Loyalists and patriots fought each other as bitterly as two rival factions within the patriots. His term of office was to be very short, as he was sent to the Continental Congress soon after the election . George Wells should be his successor, but this was shot in a duel by the later Governor James Jackson . So was Stephen Heard new governor. Howly was a member of the Continental Congress from 1780 to 1781, after which he worked as a lawyer again at short notice. He had his last public position from 1782 to 1783 as Chief Justice of the State of Georgia. He died in December 1784.

Web links

• Richard Howly in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Richard Howly in the National Governors Association (English)