Samuel Johnston (15 December 1733 – 17 August 1816) was Governor of North Carolina from 20 December 1787 to 17 December 1789 (succeeding Richard Caswell and preceding Alexander Martin) and a US Senator from 26 November 1789 to 4 March 1793 (preceding Martin). He was a member of the Federalist Party.
Biography[]
Samuel Johnston was born in Dundee, Scotland in 1733, the nephew of North Carolina governor Gabriel Johnston. In 1736, the Johnston family moved to North Carolina, and Johnston was admitted to the bar and began the practice of law in Edenton. From 1759 to 1775, he served in the General Assembly, and he was a strong supporter of American independence from Great Britain. In 1775, following Josiah Martin's resignation, Johnston served as acting governor until Richard Caswell took office. After the American Revolutionary War, Johnston served as Governor from 1787 to 1789, and he then served as one of the state's inaugural US Senators from 1789 to 1793. From 1800 to 1803, he served as a justice in the North Carolina Supreme Court. He died in 1816.