Battles Important People Important Places Historical Viewpoints Historical Events Historic Documents Timeline Recommended Readings Message Board Chat Home Online Degrees	Time Line of the Life of Patrick Henry Although Patrick Henry was baptized into the Church of England, he often attended Presbyterian services with his mother.  The dramatic preaching of Samuel Davies and other ministers associated with the evangelical movement known as the Great Awakening was significant influence on Patrick Henry’s oratory.
		Patrick Henry 1736 - 1799

• 1736 - May 29 - Born at Studley in Hanover County, the second son of John Henry and his wife, Sarah Winston Syme Henry.  The couple had eleven children together.  Two children died at young ages leaving two sons and seven daughters in the family.
• 1751 - Patrick Henry apprenticed to a storekeeper as a clerk.
• 1754 - Married Sarah Shelton at Rural Plains. Her dowry was a 600-acre tobacco farm in Hanover County named Pine Slash, a house, and six slaves.  Henry’s first effort at farming failed during the severe drought that afflicted Virginia.
• 1760 - Admitted to the bar and started his practice.
  1763 - Gave the famous "Parson's Cause" speech.
• 1764 - Patrick and Sarah Henry moved to Roundabout in Louisa County.
• 1765 - May 20 - First seated in the House of Burgesses. Continued to serve until 1774.
• 1765 - May 29 - Famous "Stamp Act" speech in the House of Burgesses in Williamsburg.
• 1771 - Patrick Henry purchased Scotchtown Plantation.
• 1773 - January 18: Patrick Henry described his attitude toward slavery in a letter to Robert Pleasants, a Quaker from Hanover County.
• 1774 - 1775 - Virginia's representative to Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
• 1775 - Death of Sarah Shelton at Scotchtown.
  March 23 - "Give me Liberty or Give me Death" speech at St. John's Church in Richmond.
  August 26:  Although Henry had no military experience, he was elected colonel of the First Virginia Regiment and commander-in-chief of the Virginia militia.
  February 28:  Henry resigned his military appointment.
• 1776 - 1779 - First governor of Virginia for 3 one year terms.
• 1777 - October 9 - Married Dorothea Dandridge, grand-daughter of Governor Alexander Spotswood.
• 1780 - 1784 - Member of the House of Delegates representing Hanover County.
• 1784 - 1786 - Governor of Virginia for two one year terms.
• 1794 - Patrick Henry purchased Red Hill, a 700 acre estate on the Staunton River in Charlotte County.  For two years he alternated living between Red Hill and Long Island, going to Long Island during the “sickly season.”  His daughters preferred the social life at Red Hill, and Patrick Henry enjoyed the natural setting of Red Hill, calling it “one of the garden spots of the world.”  Henry and Dorothea added a bedroom on the east side of the house where they could “hear the patter of rain on its roof."
• 1795 - Refused offer from President Washington to serve as Secretary of State.
• 1796 - Refused an offer from President Washington to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
  1796 - Refused an offer from the General Assembly to serve as Governor.
• 1799 - Refused an offer from President Adams to serve on the Mission to France.
  March 4:  Although his health was failing, Patrick Henry made his last public speech to the voters at Charlotte County Courthouse. George Washington had convinced Patrick Henry to run in the election for the Virginia legislature.  He won the election but died before the legislature convened that autumn.
• 1799 - June 6 - Died and was buried at Red Hill, Charlotte County.

Recommended readings: (Click on the link to purchase)

Title: A Son of Thunder: Patrick Henry and the American Republic || Author: Henry Mayer || ISDN: 0-80213-815-2 || Released: February 1992

While Henry Mayer exaggerates the extent to which Patrick Henry was a democrat, he certainly does a brilliant job in portraying the key figure in Virginia politics from the decade before the Revolution to through ratification of the constitution. This book should be on the shelf of everyone interested in the period in which Henry lived.   This is not the sole extensive biography of Henry, but the other book that fits that description -- a three-volume work, including a volume of Henry's surviving letters, by Henry's grandson -- is over a century old.

Title: Give Me Liberty: The Uncompromising Statesmanship of Patrick Henry || Author: David J Vaughn|| ISDN: 1-888-95222-9 || Released: February 1997

"I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" These compelling words from a speech delivered by Patrick Henry in 1775 at the second Virginia Convention embody the spirit of American courage and patriotism. The speeches of the 'orator of liberty' fueled the fire of the struggle for American Independence. This insightful look at one of our country's most colorful and verbal forefathers will deepen every readers' appreciation for the leaders in our past and strengthen their understanding that, even today, freedom isn't free.