Davie, William Richardson, 1756–1820, American Revolutionary soldier and statesman, b. Egremont, Cumberland, England. During the American Revolution he served under Casimir Pulaski and later took part in the Carolina campaign, becoming Gen. Nathanael Greene's commissary general. After the war he practiced law in Halifax, N.C., served (1786–98) in the state legislature, and drew up (1789) the act for establishment of the Univ. of North Carolina. Davie was governor of North Carolina (1798–99) and one of the peace commissioners John Adams sent (1799) to France after the XYZ Affair.
See biography by B. Robinson (1957).
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