William Paca (1740–1799)

Signer of the Declaration of Independence, born in Maryland, on the 31st of October 1740. He studied law and was admitted to the English bar, and on his return home opposed the Stamp Act and other tyrannical measures of the British government. From 1771 to 1774 he was a member of the Maryland legislature, and from 1774 to 1779 served in the Continental Congress. He signed the Declaration of Independence, became state senator, afterward held two judicial offices, and was governor of Maryland from 1782 to 1786. He died in Maryland in 1799.