Henry's Early Life and Times (and other life events)

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Patrick Henry was recognized by his Virginia contemporaries as "the man who gave the first impulse to the ball of revolution." Born at Studley plantation in Hanover County, Virginia, on May 29, l736, Henry received most of his education from his father, who had attended King's College of Aberdeen.

The following links will show you Henry's early life and times.

• May 29, 1736 Patrick Henry born at Studley in Hanover County
  
  
• 1748 Henry witnesses preaching of evangelist Samuel Davies during the Great Awakening
  
  
• 1753 Patrick Henry married Sarah Shelton. Her dowry was a 600-acre farm called Pine Slash, a house, and six slaves.
  
  
• 1760 Henry passes bar examination in Williamsburg
  
  
• 1760-1768 Henry's county court practice exceeds 3,200 cases
  
  
• December 1, 1763 Henry argues Parsons' Cause at Hanover Court House
  
  
• May 1765 Henry's first election to House of Burgesses
  
  
• May 29-30, 1765 Henry supports his Resolutions against the Stamp Act with his "Caesar-Brutus Speech," depicted in Peter Rothermel's monumental painting, which hangs in the museum at Red Hill.
  
  
• Henry delivered his famous "Caesar-Brutus Speech" in the debate about his Resolutions against the Stamp Act. When Henry compared George III to the tyrants Julius Caesar and Charles I, he was accused of treason.
  
  
• 1769 Henry admitted to the bar of the General Court
  
  
• 1770-1771 Henry defends persecuted Baptist ministers Jeremiah Walker, John Waller, and John Williams.