Rufus King by Gilbert Stuart

Rufus King (1755–1827) Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828) Oil on striated panel, 1819–1820 Gift of the James Smithson Society NPG.88.1 This image is a faithful reproduction of a two-dimensional work of art and thus not copyrightable in itself in the U.S. as per Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.; the same is also true in many other countries. The original two-dimensional work shown in this image is free content because: This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" from the U.S. Copyright Office. Works published before 1924 are now in the public domain and also in countries that figure copyright from the date of death of the artist (post mortem auctoris) , in this case Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828) and that most commonly run for a period of 50 to 70 years from december 31st of that date.

KING, Rufus, (half brother of Cyrus King and father of John Alsop King and James Gore King), a Delegate from Massachusetts and a Senator from New York; born in Scarboro, Maine (then a district of Massachusetts), March 24, 1755; attended Dummer Academy, Byfield, Mass., and graduated from Harvard College in 1777; served in the Revolutionary War; studied law; admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Newburyport in 1780;

delegate to the Massachusetts General Court 1783-1785; Member of the Continental Congress from Massachusetts 1784-1787; delegate to the Federal constitutional convention at Philadelphia in 1787 and to the State convention in 1788 which ratified the same; moved to New York City in 1788; member, New York assembly; elected to the United States Senate in 1789; reelected in 1795 and served from July 16, 1789, until May 1796, when he resigned to become United States Minister to Great Britain; Minister to Great Britain 1796-1803;

unsuccessful Federalist candidate for Vice President of the United States in 1804; again elected as a Federalist to the United States Senate in 1813; reelected in 1819 and served from March 4, 1813, to March 3, 1825; chairman, Committee on Roads and Canals (Sixteenth Congress), Committee on Foreign Relations (Seventeenth Congress); unsuccessful candidate for Governor of New York in 1816 and for President of the United States in 1816; again United States Minister to Great Britain 1825-1826; died in Jamaica, Long Island, N.Y., April 29, 1827; interment in the churchyard of Grace Church.

Bibliography:

American National Biography; Dictionary of American Biography; Ernst, Robert. Rufus King: American Federalist. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1968; King, Charles, ed. The Life and Correspondence of Rufus King. 6 vols. 1894-1900. Reprint. New York: Da Capo Press, 1971.