biography
| name: |
Carroll, Charles
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| |
, known as Charles ‘of Carrollton’
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1737–1832)
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| biography:
| Revolutionary leader and US senator, born in Annapolis, Maryland, USA, the cousin of John Cardinal Carroll. Son of a wealthy, land-owning Catholic family, he was educated at Jesuit schools in France, studied law in London, then returned to Maryland (1765) and took over the family estate, Carrollton. He devoted himself to managing the estate until he was drawn into politics (1773) and became spokesman for the patriot cause. In 1776 he accompanied Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Chase, and his cousin, John, on a failed mission to persuade Canada to join the revolutionary colonies. As a member of the Continental Congress (1776–8) he signed the Declaration of Independence; later he was a member of the US Senate (Federal, Maryland, 1789–92). Active in trade, land development, and with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, at his death he was said to be the wealthiest man in America as well as being the last surviving signatory of the Declaration of Independence. |
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