Rufus King (1755-1827) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the United States Constitution. He served as a United States Senator from New York and was the Federalist Party's unsuccessful candidate for Vice President in the 1816 election. King also served as the United States Minister to Great Britain from 1796 to 1803. King was born in Scarborough, Maine, and graduated from Harvard College in 1777. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1780. He served in the Massachusetts General Court from 1783 to 1785 and in the Continental Congress from 1784 to 1787. He was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1787 to 1788 and a member of the New York State Senate from 1788 to 1796. King was a strong advocate of the Constitution and a leader of the Federalist Party. He was a vocal opponent of slavery and a proponent of the abolition of the slave trade. He was also a strong supporter of the Jay Treaty, which sought to improve relations between the United States and Great Britain. King died in 1827 in New York City. He is buried in the Trinity Church Cemetery in Manhattan.
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