William Bradford (Rhode Island)

William Bradford ( * November 4, 1729 in Plympton, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, † July 6, 1808 in Bristol, Rhode Iceland ) was an American politician who represented the state of Rhode Iceland in the U.S. Senate.

William Bradford was the great-grandson of the eponymous governor of the Plymouth Colony in the 17th century. He studied medicine in Hingham and then worked as a doctor in Warren. He later moved to Bristol, where he lived at Mount Hope Farm, which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There also began his political career when he was first elected in 1761 as the Colonial Parliament, to which he belonged, with brief interruptions until 1803. During this time he also completed a law degree, was admitted to the bar in 1767 and commenced practice in Bristol. From 1775 to 1778 Bradford acted as deputy governor (vice governor ). In 1776 he was elected to the Continental Congress, but he renounced this mandate.

On 7 October 1775 as the British Navy took over the city of Bristol under attack, Bradford's house belonged to those who were destroyed. Later he acted on one of warships from a ceasefire.

After the United States government had established, William Bradford was chosen as the successor of Joseph Stanton in the U.S. Senate. He took its mandate as a Federalist from March 4, 1793 and was posted on July 6, 1797 President pro tempore; in October of the same year he resigned as senator. Bradford returned to Bristol, where he died in 1808.