born Nov. 30, 1723, Albany, N.Y.
died July 25, 1790, Elizabeth, N.J.
American politician.
He served in the New York legislature (1759–60), wrote political pamphlets and newspaper articles, and helped prepare a digest of New York laws for the period 1691 to 1756. He moved to New Jersey in 1772 and represented the colony in the Continental Congress (1774–76). As New Jersey's first governor (1776–90), he was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and led his state to an early ratification of the U.S. Constitution.