Button Gwinnett
| Button Gwinnett | |
|---|---|
Portrait by Nathaniel Hone
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| Governor of Georgia | |
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In office March 4, 1777 – May 8, 1777 |
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| Preceded by | Archibald Bulloch |
| Succeeded by | John Adam Treutlen |
| Delegate from Georgia to the Continental Congress | |
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In office 1775–1775 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 1735 Gloucestershire, Great Britain |
| Died |
(aged 42) near Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| Nationality | British/American |
| Spouse(s) | Ann Bourne |
| Signature |  |
Button Gwinnett (1735 – May 19, 1777) was a British-born American founding father who, as a representative of Georgia to the Continental Congress, was one of the signatories (first signature on the left) on the United States Declaration of Independence. He was also, briefly, the provisional president of Georgia in 1777, and Gwinnett County (now a major suburb of metropolitan Atlanta) was named for him. Gwinnett was killed in a duel by a rival, Lachlan McIntosh, following a dispute after a failed invasion of East Florida.
Gwinnett was born in 1735 in the parish of Down Hatherley in the county of Gloucestershire, Great Britain to an English father, the Reverend Samuel Gwinnett, and his wife, Anne. He was the third of his parents' seven children, born after his older sister Anna Maria and his older brother Samuel. There are conflicting reports as to his exact birthdate, but he was baptized in St. Catherine's Church in Gloucester on April 10, 1735. It is believed that he attended the College School, held in Gloucester Cathedral (now called The King's School) as did his older brother, but there is no surviving evidence to substantiate this. He started his career as a merchant in England. He moved to Wolverhampton in 1754, and in 1757 at age twenty-two he married a local, Ann Bourne, at St. Peter's Church. In 1762 the couple departed Wolverhampton and emigrated to America.
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