John Drayton

Drawing of a man in a powdered wig

John Drayton, 40th Governor of South Carolina. From A History of the University of South Carolina by Edwin L. Green, published in 1916. Wikimedia Commons.

(1766 - 1822) John Drayton was born in Charleston, South Carolina, to William Henry Drayton and Dorothy Golightly. He served as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1792 to 1796. In 1801 he became the 40th governor of South Carolina and served from 1801 to 1803 and from 1809 to 1810. In 1812, President James Madison nominated Drayton for a seat on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. He served as judge until he died in 1822.