Lee, Richard Henry (1732–1794)

American politican. He was a delegate to the first Continental Congress held in Philadelphia 1774, and proposed the first and second addresses to the British people. In the Congress of 1776 he introduced the resolutions that brought about the writing of the Declaration of Independence. As a senator 1789–92, he was primarily interested in the ideas embodied in the Bill of Rights of the US Constitution.

Lee was born in Stratford, Virginia. He was educated in England, and returned to America 1752, having inherited large landed estates. In the Virginia legislative assembly, he led the opposition to what he deemed the arbitrary acts of the British governing authorities.