Jacob Read

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title: "Jacob Read" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1752-births", "1816-deaths", "south-carolina-lawyers", "american-revolutionary-war-prisoners-of-war-held-by-great-britain", "continental-congressmen-from-south-carolina", "united-states-senators-from-south-carolina", "presidents-pro-tempore-of-the-united-states-senate", "south-carolina-federalists", "federalist-party-united-states-senators", "united-states-senators-who-owned-slaves", "18th-century-united-states-senators", "18th-century-members-of-the-south-carolina-general-assembly", "candidates-in-the-1793-united-states-elections"] description: "American politician" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Read" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American politician ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	Jacob Read
image	JacobRead.jpg
imagesize	166px
office	President pro tempore of the United States Senate
term_start	November 22, 1797
term_end	December 12, 1797
preceded	William Bradford
succeeded	Theodore Sedgwick
office1	United States Senator
from South Carolina
term_start1	March 4, 1795
term_end1	March 3, 1801
preceded1	Ralph Izard
succeeded1	John E. Colhoun
office3	9th Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives
term3	January 5, 1789 - December 17, 1794
predecessor3	John J. Pringle
successor3	Robert Barnwell
birth_date	1752
birth_place	near Charleston, South Carolina
death_date	July 17,
death_place	near Charleston, South Carolina
restingplace	I'on Cemetery (Historic Hobcaw Cemetery), Bond/Read Family Cemetery
party	Federalist
occupation
profession	Lawyer
::

| name = Jacob Read | image = JacobRead.jpg | imagesize = 166px | office = President pro tempore of the United States Senate | term_start = November 22, 1797 | term_end = December 12, 1797 | preceded = William Bradford | succeeded = Theodore Sedgwick | office1 = United States Senator from South Carolina | term_start1 = March 4, 1795 | term_end1 = March 3, 1801 | preceded1 = Ralph Izard | succeeded1 = John E. Colhoun | office3 = 9th Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives | term3 = January 5, 1789 - December 17, 1794 | predecessor3 = John J. Pringle | successor3 = Robert Barnwell | birth_date = 1752 | birth_place = near Charleston, South Carolina | death_date = July 17, | death_place = near Charleston, South Carolina | restingplace = I'on Cemetery (Historic Hobcaw Cemetery), Bond/Read Family Cemetery | birthname = | nationality = | party = Federalist | otherparty = | spouse = | relations = | children = | residence = | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = Lawyer | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | religion = | signature = | website = | footnotes = Jacob Read (1752 – July 17, 1816) was an American lawyer and politician from Charleston, South Carolina. He represented South Carolina in both the Continental Congress (1783–1785) and the United States Senate (1795–1801).

Biography

Read was born at "Hobcaw" plantation in Christ Church Parish, near Charleston, South Carolina, in 1752. After he completed preparatory studies, he studied law and was admitted to the bar. He also studied in England from 1773 to 1776. He joined other Americans in London in 1774 in a petition against the Boston port bill.

Career

When Read returned to the United States, he served South Carolina in various military and civil capacities during the Revolutionary War. He was sent with other Americans as a prisoner of the British to St. Augustine from 1780 to 1781. He was a member of the State assembly in 1782, and of the privy council in 1783. He served as a Member of the Continental Congress from 1783 to 1785, and was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from St. Philip's and St. Michael's Parish. His service in the state lower house lasted from January 8, 1782, to December 17, 1794, and served as Speaker for the last five years in that house. He ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1793.

Elected as a Federalist to the United States Senate, Read served a single term from March 4, 1795, to March 3, 1801. He served as president pro tempore of the Senate during the Fifth Congress for about a month, but was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection. He was succeeded by Democratic-Republican John E. Colhoun.

Death

Read died in Charleston, South Carolina, on July 17, 1816 (age about 64 years). He is interred in the Bond/Read family cemetery at "Hobcaw," in Christ Church Parish, near Charleston.

References

References

1. "Jacob Read". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
2. "A New Nation Votes".
3. "Jacob Read". Govtrack US Congress.
4. "Jacob Read". The Political Graveyard.

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