Robert Smith (American cabinet member)

Robert Smith
6th United States Secretary of State
In office
March 6, 1809 – April 1, 1811
PresidentJames Madison
Preceded byJames Madison
Succeeded byJames Monroe
United States Attorney General
Acting
In office
March 2, 1805 – August 7, 1805
PresidentThomas Jefferson
Preceded byLevi Lincoln
Succeeded byJohn Breckinridge
2nd United States Secretary of the Navy
In office
July 27, 1801 – March 4, 1809
PresidentThomas Jefferson
Preceded byBenjamin Stoddert
Succeeded byPaul Hamilton
Personal details
Born(1757-11-03)November 3, 1757
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, British America
DiedNovember 26, 1842(1842-11-26) (aged 85)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
SpouseMargaret Smith
EducationCollege of New Jersey (BA)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/serviceContinental Army
RankPrivate
Battles/warsAmerican Revolutionary War

Robert Smith (November 3, 1757 – November 26, 1842) was an American politician, diplomat, and admiralty lawyer. He served as the second United States Secretary of the Navy from 1801 to 1809 and the sixth United States Secretary of State from 1809 to 1811. He was the younger brother of Senator Samuel Smith.

Smith was a veteran of the American Revolutionary War and later graduated from Princeton University, then known as the College of New Jersey. As a respected lawyer, Smith became part of Baltimore's political elite, launching his political career under Thomas Jefferson and later James Madison.[1]

After a forced resignation from the Cabinet in 1811,[1] Smith served as president of the American Bible Society and the Maryland Agriculture Society. Retired from public office, Smith died in 1842.

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