Livingston, U.S. History, Biographies

Related Category: U.S. History, Biographies

William Livingston, 1723–90, b. Albany, N.Y., was the youngest of the three sons of Robert R. Livingston's (1654–1728) son Philip. He fought actively in the American Revolution. He was admitted (1748) to the bar and became one of the leading lawyers of New York City. Together with the historian William Smith he prepared a digest of the laws (1691–1756) of provincial New York. He moved (1772) to New Jersey and was sent to the First and Second Continental Congresses, resigning in 1776 to command briefly the New Jersey militia. In the same year he was elected New Jersey's first governor, and he remained in this office for the rest of his life. His influence played a large part in the prompt ratification of the U.S. Constitution in New Jersey. His daughter married John Jay.