Peyton Randolph (1779December 26, 1828) was a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

politician from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

who served as acting

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

for several days at the end of 1811 and beginning of 1812.

Biography

Randolph was the son of

Edmund Jennings Randolph Edmund Jennings Randolph (August 10, 1753 September 12, 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States, attorney, and the 7th Governor of Virginia. As a delegate from Virginia, he attended the Constitutional Convention and helped to create ...

who had been a delegate to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

, Governor of Virginia, and the first

U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

. He was born in

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula ...

in 1779, graduated from the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III a ...

in 1798, studied law, and practiced in Richmond. He served on the Virginia Privy Council from 1809 to 1812. Following the death of Governor George William Smith, and 68 others, in the burning of the Richmond Theater on December 26, 1811, Randolph served as the

Acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

, from December 26, 1811 until January 3, 1812. For many years Randolph was clerk of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. He was the court's official reporter from 1821 until his death, and produced the Virginia Reports, the court's official published case records. He died in Richmond on December 26, 1828.

References

Political Graveyard
1779 births 1828 deaths Governors of Virginia

Peyton Randolph Peyton Randolph (September 10, 1721 – October 22, 1775) was an American politician and planter who was a Founding Father of the United States. Born into Virginia's wealthiest and most powerful family, Randolph served as speaker of Virginia' ...

American people of English descent College of William & Mary alumni Virginia Democratic-Republicans Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States Politicians from Williamsburg, Virginia 19th-century American politicians {{Virginia-politician-stub