Wikipedia article of the day for May 29, 2026

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 29, 2026 is Patrick Henry.
Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 – June 6, 1799) was an American attorney known for his declaration to the Second Virginia Convention in 1775: "Give me liberty or give me death!" Beginning a law practice in 1760, he soon became prominent through his victory in the Parson's Cause. Henry was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, where he quickly became notable for his inflammatory rhetoric against the Stamp Act of 1765. In 1774 and 1775, Henry served as a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses. Back in Virginia, Henry urged independence, and when this was declared, served as governor until 1779, and then in the Virginia House of Delegates until he began his last two terms as governor in 1784. Henry feared a strong federal government, and he actively opposed the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. A slaveholder throughout his adult life, he hoped to see slavery end, but had no plan to accomplish that. Henry is remembered for his oratory, and as a Founding Father.