Richard Law

Richard Law

Richard Law (born March 7, 1733 in Milford , Colony of Connecticut , †  January 26, 1806 in New London , Connecticut ) was an American lawyer and politician who participated as a delegate from Connecticut at the Continental Congress. He later became a federal judge .

Richard Law grew up during the British colonial era and received a classical education. He graduated from Yale College in 1751 , after which he studied law, was inducted into the bar in January 1755, and began practicing in Milford. From 1757 he worked in New London. He had his first political mandate in 1765 as a member of the colonial parliament of Connecticut .

After the outbreak of the American Revolution , Law became a member of the Council of Safety for Connecticut in May 1776 . In 1777 he was sent by his state for the first time as a delegate to the sessions of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia . Between 1781 and 1782 he received this mandate again. He held other public offices from 1776 to 1786 as a member of the Governor's Advisory Committee and from 1784 to 1806 as Mayor of New London. During this time he was also a judge at the Connecticut Supreme Court (1784–1789) and from May 1786 chief judge at the Superior Court of his state.

On September 24, 1789 Law was finally appointed by US President George Washington as a judge in the federal district court for the district of Connecticut. He stayed in New London until his death on January 26, 1806. He was buried in the local Cedar Grove Cemetery . His son Lyman Law and his grandson John Law also became politicians and were both members of the United States House of Representatives .

Web links

• Richard Law in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Richard Law in the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges

• Richard Law in the database of Find a Grave (English)