File:Elbridge-gerry-painting.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Elbridge Gerry
Sign in to saveAlso known as Elbridge Thomas Gerry
vice president of the United States from 1813 to 1814
Elbridge Gerry was Vice President of the United States for a brief period from 1813 to 1814 under President James Madison. He is historically notable as one of the least-remembered vice presidents due to his short tenure during the War of 1812.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Thomas
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Marblehead
- Spouse
- Ann Gerry
- Occupation
- diplomat
- Educated at
- Harvard College
- Political party
- Democratic-Republican Party
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Native language
- English language
- Religion
- Episcopal Church
- Image
- 05 Elbridge Gerry 3x4.jpg
- Number of children
- 10
- Work location
- Washington, D.C.
Show 9 more facts
- place of burial
- Congressional Cemetery
- Commons category
- Elbridge Gerry
- date of birth
- 1744-07-17
- date of death
- 1814-11-23
- manner of death
- natural causes
- name in native language
- Elbridge Thomas Gerry
- cause of death
- cardiovascular disease
- National Governors Association biography URL
- www.nga.org/governor/elbridge-gerry
via Wikidata · CC0
~36 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Elbridge Thomas Gerry (/ˈɡɛri/; July 17 [O.S. July 6] 1744 – November 23, 1814) was an American Founding Father, merchant, politician, and diplomat, who as a member of the Second Continental Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation. From 1813 until his death in 1814, he served as the fifth vice president of the United States under President James Madison. The political practice of gerrymandering is named after him.
Born into a wealthy merchant family, Gerry vocally opposed British colonial policy in the 1760s and was active in the early stages of organizing the resistance in the American Revolutionary War. In addition to signing the Declaration and the Articles, he was one of three men who attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787, but refused to sign the Constitution because originally it did not include a Bill of Rights. After its ratification, he was elected to the inaugural United States Congress, where he was actively involved in the drafting and passage of the Bill of Rights as an advocate of individual and state liberties.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Elbridge Gerry” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.