William King (governor)

William King
portrait by Gilbert Stuart, 1806
1st Governor of Maine
In office
March 15, 1820 – May 28, 1821
Succeeded byWilliam D. Williamson
Member of the Massachusetts Senate
In office
1807–1811
1816–1820
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
In office
1795–1799
Personal details
Born(1768-02-09)February 9, 1768
Scarborough, Province of Massachusetts Bay, British America
DiedJune 17, 1852(1852-06-17) (aged 84)
Bath, Maine, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
Ann Frazier King (1782-1857), portrait by Gilbert Stuart

William King (February 9, 1768 – June 17, 1852) was an American merchant, shipbuilder, army officer, and statesman from Bath, Maine. A proponent of statehood for Maine, he became its first governor when it separated from Massachusetts in 1820. He was the half-brother of Rufus King, who was a member of the Confederation Congress from Massachusetts, delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, served as United States Senator from New York (from 1789 to 1796 and again from 1813 to 1825), and as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James from 1796 to 1803 and again from 1825 to 1826.