David Howell (jurist)

David Howell
David Howell painted by James Sullivan Lincoln
41st Attorney General of Rhode Island
In office 1789–1790
Governor	John Collins
Preceded by	Henry Goodwin
Succeeded by	Daniel Updike
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island
In office November 16, 1812 – July 30, 1824
Appointed by	James Madison
Preceded by	David Leonard Barnes
Succeeded by	John Pitman
Personal details
Born	January 1, 1747 Morristown, New Jersey
Died	July 30, 1824 (aged 77) Providence, Rhode Island
Resting place	North Burial Ground
Children	Jeremiah B. Howell
Alma mater	Princeton University A.M. Brown University 1769
Occupation	Deputy, Assistant, Attorney General

David Howell (January 1, 1747 – July 30, 1824) was an American jurist and statesman from Providence, Rhode Island.

Born in Morristown, New Jersey, Howell graduated from Princeton University in 1766, and received an A.M. from Brown University in 1769. He was in private practice in Providence, Rhode Island from 1768 to 1779. He was a professor of law and then acting president at Brown University in 1791 and 1792. He was a Justice of the Peace in Providence in 1779, and a Justice of the Rhode Island Court of Common Pleas, also in Providence, in 1780, returning to private practice from 1781 to 1782. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1782 to 1785, and an Associate Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court from 1786 to 1787, then serving as Rhode Island Attorney General in 1789. He was a Boundary commissioner, New York City in 1794.

He was appointed by Thomas Jefferson in 1801 as United States Attorney, and On November 13, 1812, Howell was nominated by President James Madison to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island vacated by David L. Barnes. Howell was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 16, 1812, and received his commission the following day. He served on the federalist (pro-Constitution) committee which negotiated an end to William West's armed anti-federalist protest on July 4. 1788. Howell served until his death, in 1824, in Providence.

External links

• United States Congress. "David Howell (id: H000859)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• "David Howell". Find a Grave. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
• David Howell at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.