american leaders library

American civil leaders, such as Patrick Henry and Paul Revere, played important roles in the fight to gain independence. This section contains information about some of the people involved in the birth of the new country.

Featured Article: John Barry

Barry, John (1745–1803), a United States naval officer. After John Paul Jones, he was the greatest naval hero of the American Revolution. See more »

Articles 81-100 of 110

Pontiac

Pontiac, (1720?–1769), an Ottawa Indian chief. Pontiac's attack on the British fort at Detroit in 1763 caused a general uprising known as Pontiac's Rebellion or Conspiracy.

Richard Bassett

Bassett, Richard (1745–1815), an American Revolutionary leader and statesman. He was born in Cecil County, Maryland.

Richard Henry Lee

Lee, Richard Henry (1732–1794), an American Patriot of the Revolutionary War era.

Richard Montgomery

Montgomery, Richard (1736?–1775), an American Revolutionary War army officer. Montgomery was born in Ireland and attended Trinity College, Dublin.

Richard Stockton

Stockton, Richard (1730–1781), a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Stockton was a member of the New Jersey Executive Council, 1768–76, and was considered a moderate in his opposition to Britain's colonial policy.

Robert Livingston and William Livingston

Livingston, a family distinguished in colonial New York and in early United States history.

Robert Morris

Morris, Robert (1734–1806), an American patriot, called the “financier of the Revolution.” He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Robert Treat

Treat, Robert (1622–1710), an American colonial official. While governor of Connecticut (1683–87, 1689–98), he fought the attempts of other colonies and of England to encroach upon that colony's rights.

Roger Sherman

Sherman, Roger (1721–1793), a United States patriot and statesman. He was the only person to sign all four of the documents that were most significant in the formation of the United States: the Association (a compact to boycott British goods, adopted 1774), the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Articles of Confederation (1781), and the Constitution of the United States (1787).

Rutledge

Rutledge, the family name of two brothers who were active in government affairs in the early days of the United States.

Samuel Adams

Adams, a Massachusetts family of statesmen, scholars, and authors that included two Presidents of the United States.

Samuel Huntington

Huntington, Samuel (1731–1796), an American Revolutionary War patriot and political leader.

Seth Warner

Warner, Seth (1743–1784), a Revolutionary War soldier. He and his cousin Ethan Allen were leaders of the Green Mountain Boys in Vermont.

Thaddeus Kosciusko

Kosciusko, Thaddeus (1746–1817), a Polish army officer and national hero. A devoted fighter for liberty, he helped the American patriots in their struggle for independence during the Revolutionary War and later led an unsuccessful attempt to free Polish territory from Russian control.