ELLSWORTH, OLIVER ( 1745-1807 ) . An American statesman and jurist, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1796 to 1800. He was born at Windsor, Conn., and studied at both Yale and Princeton, graduat ing at the latter institution in )766. He was admitted to the Connecticut bar in 1771. In 1775 he was chosen a member of the Conneetieut Legislature, in which, in the early years of the Revolution, lie served as a member of the impor tant Committee of Military .Accounts. Elected to the Continental Congress in 1778. he continued to serve as a delegate until 1784, when he became a member of the Governor's Council and a judge of the State Supreme Court. In 1787, with Roger Sherman and William Samuel Johnson, he was chosen to represent Connecticut in the Constitu tional Convention. As a member of this conven tion his most important achievement was secur ing the' adoption of the 'Connecticut Compromise,' which called for a combination whereby there should be two Houses, the Upper chosen on a basis of equality between the States, and the Lower on a representative basis proportioned aeco•ding to population. This plan was finally adopted by the narrow majority of one vote. On the organi zation of the National Government, in 1789, he was elected one of the first United States Senators from Connecticut. As chairman of the' Senate Committee on Judiciary he drew up the bill which organized the judicial system of the coun try on the basis upon which it has ever since been maintained. As the leader of the Federal
ists in the Senate, lie suggested to Washington the plan of sending John Jay to England in 1794 to negotiate a treaty with that country; and it was Ellsworth's influence, in the face of violent opposition, that secured the Senate's approval of the treaty after it had been negotiated. In 1796 he was appointed by Washington Chief Justice' of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving until 1799, in which year he was sent, with Wil liam R. Davie and Vans Alurray, as commis sioner to adjust the numerous disputes that had arisen between the United States and Frame. The negotiations, carried on almost entirely by Ellsworth. terminated by the signing of a treaty whereby Pr: nce conceded a recognition of the rights of time neutral vessels and promised in demnity for depredations on American commerce. After a year in England, during which time he resigned the Chief-.Ilist ieeship, Ellsworth returned to America. From IS02 until his death he was a member of the novernor's Council in Connect i mil, On the reorganization of the Connecticut judiciary. early in 1S07, he was appointed Chief Just hey of the State, but died before entering upon his duties. Consult Van Santvoord, Lires of the Chief Justices (New York, 1854).