1. Patrick Henry lived to the age of 65 (from May 29, 1736- June 6, 1799)
2. Henry was extremely famous for his "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech.
3. Patrick Henry was both the first (1776-1779)and sixth (1784-1786) governor of Virginia.
4. Henry was a big proponant of liberty; he was on the committee that opposed the replacement of the Articles of Confederation with the Constitution because he though it would give the government too much power and impend on peoples' rights and freedoms.
5. Patrick Henry was elected to the House of Burgesses in 1765 in order to fill an empty seat in the assembly.
6. Like Sam Adams, Henry was an excellent orator; he convinced the House of Burgesses to pass the Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions (acts against the Stamp Act) though lots of people looked upon it as treason.
7. Patrick Henry and his wife Sarah had six children: Martha, Anne, Elizabeth, John,William, and Edmund.
8. President George Washington offered Henry the position of Secretary of State in 1795, but Henry declined because he apposed Washington's federalist views.
9. Patrick Henry served as a Virginia representative not only at the First Continental Congress, but he was also a representative on the committee that ratified the U.S. Constitution. (He voted against ratifying it.)
10. In a meeting of the House of Burgesses, Patrick Henry said that colonists should resist the Stamp Act, and another member said that that was treason."If this be treason, then make the most of it!" Henry reportedly replied.
11. Henry was offered the position of Emissary to France by President John Adams, but had to decline because his health was worsening.
12. Patrick Henry died of stomach cancer on June 6, 1799 at Red Hill, which was his family's huge plantation.
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