Johnson, Thomas

▪ United States governor and jurist

born Nov. 4, 1732, Calvert county, Md. [U.S.]

died Oct. 26, 1819, Rose Hill, near Frederick, Md.

      American Revolutionary War leader, first governor of Maryland (1777–79), and associate justice of the United States Supreme Court (1792–93).

      Johnson studied law in Annapolis, Md., and entered the provincial assembly in 1762. Opposed to British colonial policy, he was a member of several committees formed to draft memorials to the crown for redress of grievances and of the convention charged with organizing a colonial congress. He represented Maryland at the first Continental Congress in Philadelphia in September 1774. At the second Congress it fell to him to nominate George Washington (Washington, George) as commander in chief. Johnson supported conciliation with Great Britain but, once persuaded that the effort was fruitless, voted for the Declaration of Independence, helped frame the constitution of the state of Maryland, and, as the first brigadier general of the state militia, recruited 1,800 men to join Washington.

      He was elected the first governor of the state of Maryland in 1777 and was twice reelected, after which he served in the legislature. After the war, he and Washington formed a company to extend navigation of the Potomac River. He also served briefly in the Maryland ratification convention, where he supported ratification of the federal Constitution, and then became chief judge of the General Court of Maryland. He was named by Washington to the U.S. Supreme Court and took his seat in 1792. Johnson wrote the first opinion of that court but, because of ill health, served only briefly. Appointed to the board of commissioners of Federal City, he was largely responsible for renaming it Washington in honour of his friend.

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