Gorham, Nathaniel (1738-1796), was a Massachusetts signer of the Constitution of the United States. He favored a strong central government at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Gorham later helped win ratification of the U.S. Constitution by Massachusetts.
Gorham was born in May 1738, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He became a prosperous merchant there and took an active part in public affairs. In 1780, Gorham was a member of the Massachusetts Senate. He served in the state House of Representatives from 1781 to 1787 and held the position of speaker in 1781, 1782, and 1785. Gorham represented his state in the Congress of the Confederation almost continuously from 1782 to 1787. He served as president of the congress in 1786 and 1787. From 1785 to 1796, Gorham served as a judge of the Middlesex County Court of Common Pleas. He died in poverty, due to unsuccessful investments, on June 11, 1796.
