Benjamin Harrison (c. 1726–1791)

American statesman; a signer of the Declaration of Independence; born in Berkeley, Charles County, VA. In 1773, although rather conservative in his views, he was a member of the committee of correspondence which united the colonies against Great Britain, and was five times elected to a seat in Congress. On July 4, 1776, he reported the Declaration of Independence. He opposed, at first, the ratification, by Virginia, of the Federal constitution of 1788, but finally gave it his full support. He was governor of Virginia in 1782–85, and at the time of his death was a member of the legislature. He was the father of President W. H. Harrison (his third and youngest son), and the great-grandfather of President Benjamin Harrison. He died in April 1791.