Did You Know...

March 8, 1796 - Oliver Ellsworth takes Judicial Oath as Chief Justice

Oliver Ellsworth was elected to the Connecticut General Assembly. He served in a number of state offices, and was a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1783. After serving as a member of the Connecticut delegation to the Constitutional Convention, Ellsworth became one of Connecticut’s first two United States Senators. Ellsworth’s most important work as a United States Senator was heading a committee to organize the Federal Judiciary. The committee’s work became the Judiciary Act of 1789. On March 3, 1796, President George Washington nominated Ellsworth as Chief Justice and he was confirmed by the Senate on March 4. During his third year, President John Adams sent Ellsworth to France to help promote relations between France and the United States. Oliver Ellsworth resigned on September 30, 1800 to his estate in Windsor, Connecticut where he would remain until his death in 1807.