Stephen Hopkins (politician)

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Stephen Hopkins (March 7, 1707 – July 13, 1785) was a Founding Father of the United States. He served as governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, and was a signer of both the Continental Association and Declaration of Independence. Hopkins was from a prominent Rhode Island family. His grandfather, William Hopkins, was an influential colonial politician, while his great-grandfather Thomas Hopkins was among the original settlers of Providence Plantations. Thomas sailed from England in 1635 alongside his cousin, Benedict Arnold, who later became the first governor of the Rhode Island colony under the Royal Charter of 1663. As a child, Hopkins was a voracious reader, becoming a serious student of the sciences, mathematics, and literature. He became a surveyor and astronomer and was involved in taking measurements during the 1769 transit of Venus across the Sun. He began his public service at age 23 as a justice of...

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