Patrick Henry was born at Studley, just southeast of here, on 29 May 1736. The two-story brick manor house burned in 1807. Henry gained fame as a lawyer in the Parson's Cause case of 1763 by challenging British authority to interfere with laws passed in Virginia. While serving in the House of Burgesses, he denounced the Stamp Act in 1765. Furthering his reputation for passionate oratory, he proclaimed "Give me liberty or give me death!" at the Virginia Convention of 1775 in Richmond. Henry was elected first governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1776. He opposed ratification of the U.S. Constitution on states' rights grounds in 1788. Henry died at Red Hill in Charlotte County in 1799.
