Ellsworth, Oliver
jurist, United States senator, was born April 29, 1745, in Windsor, Conn. In 1780 he was elected to the council of Connecticut, and was a member of that body until 1784, when he was appointed a judge of the superior court of that state; and in 1787 was elected a member of the convention which framed the federal constitution. When the federal government was organized, in 1789, he was a member of the senate from Connecticut; and in 1796 was appointed by President Washington chief justice of the supreme court of the United States, but resigned the office on account of ill-health in 1800.
In 1799 he was appointed by President Adams envoy extraordinary to France, for the purpose of concluding a treaty with that nation. He died Nov. 26, 1807.