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| 1745: |
Born in the town of Antrim in what
is now northern Ireland. |
| 1747: |
Emigrates to America with his family,
eventually settling in Princeton, New Jersey. |
| 1759: |
Enters the College of New Jersey
(now Princeton University). |
| 1763: |
B.A., College of New Jersey. Enters
apprenticeship with lawyer Richard Stockton. |
| 1766: |
M.A., College of New Jersey. |
| 1768: |
Admitted to New Jersey Bar. Established
first practice in New Bromley, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. |
| 1775: |
Elected first as delegate to, then
as secretary of, the First Provincial Congress of New Jersey. |
| 1776: |
Selected as delegate to Third Provincial
Congress; continued to serve as secretary. Appointed first attorney
general of the State of New Jersey. |
| 1778/1781: |
Twice selected to sit in Continental
Congress but declines on both occasions. |
| 1779: |
Marries Cornelia Bell, daughter
of wealthy Somerset County landowner John Bell. |
| 1783: |
Wife Cornelia dies four days after
giving birth to their second child. Paterson resigns as attorney
general to devote full time to law practice. |
| 1784: |
Marries Euphemia White, dear friend
of Cornelia. |
| 1787: |
Attends Constitutional Convention
in Philadelphia. Proposes New Jersey Plan, which advocates a unicameral
body with equal representation from each state, as counter to
Virginia Plan, which proposes representation based on population.
Leads to Great Compromise and eventual bicameral legislature. |
| 1788: |
Elected to serve in the first Senate
of the United States. |
| 1791: |
Elected governor of New Jersey. |
| 1792: |
Signs charter for the Society for
Useful Manufactures, which names its site, at the base of the
Passaic River's Great Falls, for him (now the city of Paterson).
His revision and reform of New Jersey's legal code and penal practice
culminate in the 1799 publication of the Laws of New Jersey. |
| 1793: |
Appointed associate justice of
the United States Supreme Court by George Washington. |
| 1806: |
In failing health, dies on September
9, 1806 at the home of his daughter in Albany, where he is buried. |
