James Bowdoin

James Bowdoin II (; August 7, 1726 – November 6, 1790) was an American politician and educator. He was an important person  during the American Revolution.

From 1775 to 1777, he was president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress' executive council, the de facto head of the Massachusetts government. He was elected president of the constitutional convention that drafted the state's constitution in 1779.

He ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Massachusetts in 1780, losing to John Hancock. In 1785, after Hancock's resignation, he was elected governor. He lost his re-election in the 1787 election to Hancock. 

Bowdoin worked with Benjamin Franklin in his research on electricity. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, and was a founder and first president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 

Bowdoin College in Maine was named in his honor.

He died from problems caused by dysentery.Manuel and Manuel, p. 247 Bowdoin's funeral was one of the largest of the time in Boston, with people lining the streets to view the funeral procession.Winthrop, p. 130

References

Category:1726 births
Category:1790 deaths
Category:Deaths from dysentery
Category:Governors of Massachusetts
Category:Politicians from Boston
Category:Scientists from Boston
Category:Writers from Boston