Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Wythe, George

WYTHE, GEORGE, a signer of the Declaration of Independence; born in Elizabeth City, Va., in 1726; was educated at William and Mary College; studied law and became eminent in that profession; was chosen to the Virginia House of Burgesses in which he became a leader. He was author of a paper remonstrating against the Stamp Act, which was adopted after being modified. In 1775 he was sent to the Continental Congress and affixed his name to the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, as a representative of Virginia. He was made speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1777, and the same year became a judge in the Court of Chancery of Virginia. He was Professor of Law at William and Mary College in 1779-1789, and a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. He was the author of “Decisions in Virginia by the High Court of Chancery, with Remarks Upon Decrees by the Court of Appeals” (1795). He died in Richmond, Va., June 8, 1806.