Thomas Pinckney

A drawing of a man in early American military uniform.

Engraving of Thomas Pinckney by W.C. Armstrong from oil miniature by John Trumbull. 1750 - 1828. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

(1750 - 1828) Born into the prominent Pinckney family, Thomas Pinckney was the 36th governor of South Carolina. He was a soldier in the American Revolution. After the Revolutionary War, Pinckney returned to his plantation and won the election as Governor of South Carolina, serving from 1787 to 1789. He presided over the state convention which ratified the United States Constitution. In 1792 he was appointed to the position of minister to Britain. He also served as an envoy to Spain and negotiated the Treaty of San Lorenzo, which defined the border between Spain and the United States. Following his diplomatic service, he served in the US House of Representatives from 1797 to 1801. During the War of 1812, he was commissioned as a major general. On November 2, 1828, Pinckney died in Charleston, SC. He was 78 years old.