Charles Carroll (1737-1832)

Today marks the death of Charles Carroll, the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence. Born to a wealthy and prominent Maryland family, he was educated at Jesuit schools in Europe. He studied law in France and practiced in Paris and London. When he returned to America, his father gave him Carrollton, a ten thousand acre estate in Maryland. He was then known as Charles Carroll of Carrollton, to distinguish him from his father. By 1770 he became a spokesman for resistance to unfair colonial taxes. During the Revolutionary War, he joined a diplomatic mission to Canada to secure an alliance, albeit unsuccessfully. After the war he was elected a United States Senator from Maryland. He also became a leader in the Federalist Party. He retired from politics after Thomas Jefferson was elected. He was the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence.