Benjamin Smith (North Carolina)

Benjamin Smith (North Carolina)

Infobox Governor
name =Benjamin Smith


order =16th
office =Governor of North Carolina
term_start =1810
term_end =1811
lieutenant =
predecessor =David Stone
successor =William Hawkins
birth_date = January 10, 1756
birth_place =Brunswick County, North Carolina
death_date =January 15, 1826
death_place =Smithville, North Carolina
nationality =
party =Democratic-Republican
spouse =Sarah Dry
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater =
occupation =
profession =
religion =Episcopalian


website =
footnotes =

Benjamin Smith (10 January 1756ndash January 15, 1826) was the Democratic-Republican governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1810 to 1811.

Smith was born in Brunswick County, North Carolina into a socially prominent family. During the American Revolutionary War, Smith served an aide-de-camp to General George Washington and rose to the rank of colonel in the Continental Army.

In 1784, Smith was elected to the Continental Congress, although it is unclear whether he actually served. He was active in the North Carolina Constitutional Conventions of 1788 and 1789, and served a number of terms in the North Carolina General Assembly, in 1784 (Senate), 1789-1792 (House of Commons), 1792-1800 (Senate), 1801 (House of Commons) 1804-1805 (House of Commons) and 1806-1810 (Senate). From 1795 to 1799, Smith was the Speaker of the North Carolina Senate.

During his political career, Smith also sat on the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and donated 20,000 acres (81 km²) of land for the university's endowment; he chaired the trustees during his term as governor.

In 1810, aligned with the Democratic-Republican Party (he had earlier had Federalist leanings), Smith was elected governor by the North Carolina General Assembly. He served only a single one-year term, and emphasized reform of the state's criminal code and penitentiary system. Although Smith did seek re-election to the governor's seat in 1811, he polled behind William Hawkins on the first ballot and withdrew himself from consideration. He later returned to the North Carolina Senate in 1816.

Smith died in Smithville, North Carolina in 1826 and is buried at the St. Philip's Church near Wilmington. Smithville, now known as Southport, is situated a few miles outside of Wilmington along the Cape Fear River.

ources

* "Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978", Robert Sobel and John Raimo, eds. Westport, CT: Meckler Books, 1978. (ISBN 0-930466-00-4)
* [http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=f47a3138cd36c010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e449a0ca9e3f1010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD National Governors Association]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Benjamin Smith (Gouverneur) — Benjamin Smith (* 10. Januar 1756 im Brunswick County, North Carolina; † 27. Januar 1826 in Smithville, North Carolina) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker und 16. Gouverneur von North Carolina. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Frühe Jahre 2 Politischer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • North Carolina gubernatorial election, 2008 — 2004 ← November 4, 2008 → 2012 …   Wikipedia

  • North Carolina State Treasurer — North Carolina State Treasurers Office in State Capitol, c 1890s The North Carolina State Treasurer is a statewide elected office in the U.S. state of North Carolina responsible for overseeing the financial operations of state government. The… …   Wikipedia

  • North Carolina Tar Heels baseball — North Carolina Tar Heels Founded: 1867 University University of North Carolina …   Wikipedia

  • North Carolina's 4th congressional district — Current Representative David Price (D–Chapel Hill) …   Wikipedia

  • North Carolina General Assembly of 1777 — The North Carolina General Assembly of 1777 met in two sessions in New Bern, North Carolina, from April 7 to May 9, 1777, and from November 15 to December 24, 1777. This was the first North Carolina legislature elected after the last provincial… …   Wikipedia

  • North Carolina General Assembly of 1779 — The North Carolina General Assembly of 1779 met in three sessions in three locations in the years 1779 and 1780. The first session was held in Smithfield from May 3 to May 15, 1779; the second session in Halifax, from October 18 to November 10,… …   Wikipedia

  • North Carolina Award — The North Carolina Award is the highest civilian award bestowed by the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is awarded in the four fields of science, literature, the fine arts, and public service. Sometimes referred to as the Nobel Prize of North… …   Wikipedia

  • North Carolina in the American Civil War — Confederate States in the American Civil War South Carolina Mississippi Florida Alabama Georgia Louisiana Texas Virginia Arkansas North Carolina …   Wikipedia

  • North Carolina Mr. Basketball — The North Carolina Mr. Basketball honor recognizes the top boys’ high school senior basketball player in the state of North Carolina. The award is presented annually by the Charlotte Observer.[1][2] Contents 1 Award winners 1.1 Schools with… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”