George Cabot | |
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United States Senator from Massachusetts |
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In office March 4, 1791 – June 9, 1796 |
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Preceded by | Tristram Dalton |
Succeeded by | Benjamin Goodhue |
Personal details | |
Born |
Salem, Massachusetts |
December 3, 1752
Died | April 18, 1823 Boston, Massachusetts |
(aged 70)
Political party | Federalist |
Children | Charles Cabot Henry Cabot Edward Cabot Elizabeth Cabot |
Parents | Joseph Cabot Elizabeth Higginson |
Alma mater | Harvard University |
Occupation | Merchant, Seaman, Politician |
George Cabot (December 3, 1752 – April 18, 1823) was an American merchant, seaman, and politician from Boston. He represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate and as the Presiding Officer of the Hartford Convention.
In 1789, President George Washington breakfasted at Cabot's Beverly, Massachusetts home when he was in town inspecting the country's first cotton mill and the newly constructed Essex Bridge that connected Beverly with Salem.
Cabot was born in Salem, Massachusetts. His father was Joseph Cabot, a ship merchant. His mother was Elizabeth Higginson. He had ten siblings, including John Cabot (b. 1745), Joseph Cabot Jr. (b. 1746), and Samuel Cabot (b. 1758).
Cabot attended Harvard College for two years before dropping out to go to sea. By the age of twenty-one, he was captain of his own ship.
Cabot's political career began in 1775, when he became a member of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. In 1777, he was a delegate to the state constitutional convention. In 1787, Cabot was a delegate to the state convention that ratified the United States Constitution. He was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1788. He was elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1791 to June 9, 1796. He was a supporter of the financial policies of Alexander Hamilton, and became a Federalist when that party was organized. In 1793, he was named a director of the First Bank of the United States. In 1798, Cabot was appointed but declined to be the first United States Secretary of the Navy.