Andrew Hamilton (lawyer)
Andrew Hamilton (c.1676 – August 4, 1741) was a Scottish lawyer in the Thirteen Colonies who settled in Philadelphia. He was best known for his legal victory on behalf of the printer and newspaper publisher John Peter Zenger. His involvement with the 1735 decision in New York helped to establish that truth is a defense to an accusation of libel. His eloquent defense concluded with saying that the press has "a liberty both of exposing and opposing tyrannical power by speaking and writing truth."
Andrew Hamilton | |
|---|---|
An 1808 portrait of Hamilton by Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller | |
| 18th Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives | |
| In office 1736–1737 | |
| In office 1741–1749 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1676 Kingdom of Scotland |
| Died | August 4, 1741 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, British America |
| Spouse | Anne Brown Preeson |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Signature | |
His success in this case has been said to have inspired the now-archaic term "Philadelphia lawyer", meaning a particularly adept and clever attorney, as in "It would take a Philadelphia lawyer to get him off." His estate in Philadelphia, known as Bush Hill, was inherited by his son, William Hamilton, who leased it for use as the vice-president's house during the years that the city was the temporary capital of the United States.