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THOMAS JOHNSON
was born on November 4, 1732, in Calvert County, Maryland.
He was educated at home and studied law in the office
of the Clerk of the Provincial Court in Annapolis, and
later with an Annapolis attorney. He was admitted to the
Maryland bar in 1760. Johnson began his public career
in 1762 as a delegate to the Maryland Provincial Assembly.
He served as a delegate to the First and Second Continental
Congresses, and in 1776, he helped draft the Maryland
constitution. During the Revolutionary War, Johnson served
in the Maryland Militia. In 1777, he became the first
governor of the State of Maryland and served three consecutive
terms. In 1788, Johnson served as a delegate to the Maryland
Ratification Convention. On April 20, 1790, he was appointed
Chief Judge of the General Court of Maryland, the highest
common law court in the State. On November 1, 1791, President
George Washington nominated Johnson to the Supreme Court
of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment
on November 7, 1791. Citing the rigors of circuit riding,
Johnson resigned from the Supreme Court on February 1,
1793. He died on October 26, 1819, at the age of eighty-six.
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