Patrick Henry | |
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 Portrait by George Bagby Matthews after Thomas Sully, c. 1891 | |
| 1st and 6th Governor of Virginia | |
| In office December 1, 1784 – December 1, 1786 | |
| Preceded by | Benjamin Harrison V |
| Succeeded by | Edmund Randolph |
| In office July 5, 1776 – June 1, 1779 | |
| Preceded by | Edmund Pendleton (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Jefferson |
| Delegate from Virginia to the Continental Congress | |
| In office September 5, 1774 – August 1, 1775 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Nelson Jr. |
| Member of the Virginia House of Delegates | |
| Constituency |
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| Member of the Virginia House of Burgesses | |
| Constituency |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | May 29, 1736 [O.S. May 18, 1736] Studley, Colony of Virginia, British America |
| Died | June 6, 1799 (aged 63) Red Hill, Charlotte County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Red Hill Patrick Henry National Memorial |
| Political party | |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 17 |
| Parents |
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| Relatives | William Henry (brother), Elizabeth Henry Campbell Russell (sister), Annie Henry Christian (sister) |
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| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United Colonies |
| Branch/service | Virginia militia |
| Years of service | 1775–1776 |
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| Commands |
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| Battles/wars | American Revolutionary War |
Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 [O.S. May 18, 1736] – June 6, 1799) was an American politician, planter and orator who declared to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): "Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779 and from 1784 to 1786.
A native of Hanover County, Virginia, Henry was primarily educated at home. After an unsuccessful venture running a store, as well as assisting his father-in-law at Hanover Tavern, he became a lawyer through self-study. Beginning his practice in 1760, Henry soon became prominent through his victory in the Parson's Cause against the Anglican clergy. He was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, where he quickly became notable for his inflammatory rhetoric against the Stamp Act of 1765.
In 1774, Henry served as a delegate to the First Continental Congress where he signed the Petition to the King, which he helped to draft, and the Continental Association. He gained further popularity among the people of Virginia, both through his oratory at the convention and by marching troops towards the colonial capital of Williamsburg after the Gunpowder Incident until the munitions seized by the royal government were paid for. Henry urged independence, and when the Fifth Virginia Convention endorsed this in 1776, he served on the committee charged with drafting the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the original Virginia Constitution. Henry was promptly elected governor under the new charter and served a total of five one-year terms.
After leaving the governorship in 1779, Henry served in the Virginia House of Delegates until he began his last two terms as governor in 1784. The actions of the national government under the Articles of Confederation made Henry fear a strong federal government, and he declined appointment as a delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention. He actively opposed the ratification of the United States Constitution, both fearing a powerful central government and because there was as yet no Bill of Rights. He returned to the practice of law in his final years, declining several offices under the federal government. A slaveholder throughout his adult life, he hoped to see the institution end but had no plan beyond ending the importation of slaves. Henry is remembered for his oratory and as an enthusiastic promoter of the fight for independence.