David Ramsay (historian)

David Ramsay
Member of the Continental Congress from South Carolina
In office November 23, 1785 – May 12, 1786
President of the South Carolina Senate
In office 1792–1797
Personal details
Born	David Ramsay (1749-04-02)April 2, 1749 Dunmore, Pennsylvania, British America
Died	May 8, 1815(1815-05-08) (aged 66) Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Manner of death	Assassination
Spouses	Sabina Ellis ​ ​ (m. 1775; died 1776)​ Frances Witherspoon ​ ​ (m. 1783; died 1784)​ Martha Laurens ​ ​ (m. 1787; died 1811)​
Relatives	Henry Laurens (father-in-law)
Residence	David Ramsay House
Education	Princeton University (BA) University of Pennsylvania (MD)
Known for	Assisted the physician practices of Benjamin Waterhouse and Valentine Seaman regarding the smallpox vaccine[1]

David Ramsay (April 2, 1749 – May 8, 1815) was an American physician, public official, and historian from Charleston, South Carolina. He was one of the first major historians of the American Revolutionary War. During the Revolution he served in the South Carolina legislature until he was captured by the British. After his release, he served as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1782–1783 and again in 1785–1786. Afterwards, he served in the state House and Senate until retiring from public service. In 1803, Ramsay was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia.^[2] He was murdered in 1815 by a mentally ill man whom Ramsay had examined as a physician. He was the first American politician to be assassinated.^{[citation needed]}