Johnson, William Samuel (1727-1819), a lawyer, political leader, and scholar from Connecticut, was a signer of the Constitution of the United States. He attended nearly all the sessions of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where he became an effective supporter of the Great Compromise. This compromise gave the states equal representation in the U.S. Senate. Johnson also served as chairman of the committee on style, which drew up the final form of the Constitution.
Johnson was born on Oct. 7, 1727, in Stratford, Connecticut. He earned degrees from Yale and Harvard colleges. Johnson largely educated himself in law and opened a legal practice in Stratford. He also entered politics and served many terms in the Connecticut legislature between 1761 and 1789. From 1767 to 1771, Johnson acted as a special agent for Connecticut in London. He made many friends in Britain and did not take sides during the Revolutionary War in America (1775-1783). Johnson served in the Congress of the Confederation from 1785 to 1787 and in the U.S. Senate from 1789 to 1791. He was president of Columbia College in New York City from 1787 to 1800. He died on Nov. 14, 1819.
