James Iredell

associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
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Quick Facts
Born:
Oct. 5, 1751, Lewes, Sussex, Eng.
Died:
Oct. 20, 1799, Edenton, N.C., U.S. (aged 48)

James Iredell (born Oct. 5, 1751, Lewes, Sussex, Eng.—died Oct. 20, 1799, Edenton, N.C., U.S.) was an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court (1790–99). At the age of 17 Iredell was appointed comptroller of the customhouse at Edenton, N.C., to which his father, formerly a Bristol merchant, had migrated. He studied law and became active in the American cause. Although hopeful as late as June 1776 for a reconciliation with Britain, he worked as one of the commissioners to draft and revise the laws of the new state of North Carolina. He served briefly as a superior-court judge ...(100 of 263 words)