- March 6, 1809, 217 years ago — Death of Thomas Heyward Jr..
- March 6, 1724, 302 years ago — Birth of Henry Laurens, President of the Continental Congress.
- March 7, 1707, 319 years ago — Birth of Stephen Hopkins, signer of the Declaration of Independence.
- March 7, 1699, 327 years ago — Birth of Susanna Boylston Adams, mother of John Adams.
Henry Laurens
LAURENS, Henry, patriot and statesman, born in Charleston, S.C., 6 March, 1724; died there, 8 December, 1792.
He was a prosperous merchant and planter who became active in colonial politics. Laurens served in the South Carolina assembly and was elected to the Continental Congress, where he succeeded John Hancock as president in 1777.
In 1779 he was appointed minister to Holland but was captured by the British and imprisoned in the Tower of London for over a year. He was later exchanged for Lord Cornwallis and helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
Laurens was a strong advocate for American independence and a respected leader in both domestic and international affairs. Though a slaveholder, he expressed growing doubts about slavery later in life.
His legacy includes his son, John Laurens, a noted abolitionist and officer in the Continental Army.
Source:
Wilson, James Grant, and John Fiske, eds. Appleton’s Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1887. Patriot Echoes Archive
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