born Jan. 29, 1756, Prince William county, Va. died March 25, 1818, Cumberland Island, Ga., U.S. American army officer and politician. In the American Revolution he rose to cavalry commander (earning the nickname "Light-Horse Harry") and led victories at Paulus Hook, N.J., and in the South. As governor of Virginia (1791-94), he commanded the army that suppressed the Whiskey Rebellion (1794). In the U.S. House of Representatives (1799-1801), he wrote the resolution eulogizing George Washington as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." After 1800 Lee failed in several land and financial speculations and was twice imprisoned for debt. He was the father of Robert E. Lee
born Jan. 20, 1732, Stratford, Va. died June 19, 1794, Chantilly, Va., U.S. U.S. statesman. As a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses (1758-75), he opposed the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts. He helped initiate the Committees of Correspondence and was active in the First and Second Continental Congress. On June 7, 1776, he introduced a resolution calling for independence from Britain. Its adoption led to the Declaration of Independence, which he signed, as he did the Articles of Confederation. He again served in Congress from 1784 to 1787, acting as its president in 1784. He opposed ratification of the Constitution of the United States because it lacked a bill of rights. He later served in the first U.S. Senate (1789-92)