{{Short description|American judge (1747–1824)}} {{For|other people with this name|David Howell (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = David Howell | honorific_suffix = | image = David Howell James Sullivan Lincoln.jpg | alt = | caption = David Howell painted by James Sullivan Lincoln | office = Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island | term_start = November 17, 1812 | term_end = July 30, 1824 | nominator = | appointer = James Madison | predecessor = David L. Barnes | successor = John Pitman | office1 = Attorney General of Rhode Island | term1 = 1789 | governor1 = John Collins | predecessor1 = Henry Goodwin | successor1 = Daniel Berkeley Updike | pronunciation = | birth_name = David Howell | birth_date = {{Birth date|1747|01|01}} | birth_place = Morristown,<br>Province of New Jersey,<br>British America | death_date = {{Death date and age|1824|07|30|1747|01|01}} | death_place = Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. | death_cause = | resting_place = North Burial Ground<br>Providence, Rhode Island | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | party = | other_party = | height = | spouse = | partner = | relations = | children = Jeremiah B. Howell | parents = | mother = | father = | relatives = | education = Princeton University<br>Brown University (A.M.) | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | salary = | net_worth = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | awards = | signature = David Howell signature.svg | signature_alt = | website = <!--Embedded templates / Footnotes--> | footnotes = }} '''David Howell''' (January 1, 1747 – July 30, 1824) was a Delegate to the Congress of the Confederation from Rhode Island, an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island, Attorney General of Rhode Island and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island.
==Education and career==
Born on January 1, 1747, in Morristown, Morris County, Province of New Jersey, British America,<ref name="auto">{{FJC Bio|1107|nid=1382466|name=David Howell<!--(1747–1824)-->}}</ref> Howell attended Eaton's Academy in Hopewell, Province of New Jersey,<ref name="auto1">{{CongBio|H000859|David Howell|inline=yes}}</ref> then graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1766 and received an Artium Magister degree in 1769 from Rhode Island College (now Brown University).<ref name="auto"/> He was a Professor of Natural Philosophy at Brown University from 1766 to 1824,<ref name="auto1"/><ref name="auto"/> also serving as a fellow from 1773 to 1824, as Secretary from 1780 to 1806, and as Acting President from 1791 to 1792.<ref name="auto1"/> He was in private practice in Providence, Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, British America (State of Rhode Island, United States from July 4, 1776) from 1768 to 1779, and from 1781 to 1782.<ref name="auto"/> He was a Justice of the Peace for Providence in 1779.<ref name="auto"/> He was a justice of the Rhode Island Court of Common Pleas for Providence County in 1780.<ref name="auto"/> He was a Delegate to the Congress of the Confederation (Continental Congress) from 1782 to 1785.<ref name="auto"/> He was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island from May 1786 to May 1787.<ref name="auto"/><ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=3C4tAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA208 Manual - the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations]'' (1891), p. 208-13.</ref> He was Attorney General of Rhode Island in 1789.<ref name="auto"/> He was a boundary commissioner for the United States in New York City, New York in 1794.<ref name="auto1"/><ref name="auto"/>
===Notable legal apprentice===
Among the prospective attorneys who studied law with Howell was Asa Aldis, who later served as chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court.<ref>{{cite book |last=Aldrich |first=Lewis Cass |date=1891 |title=History of Franklin and Grand Isle Counties, Vermont |url=https://archive.org/details/historyfranklin00aldrgoog |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyfranklin00aldrgoog/page/n233 223] |location=Syracuse, NY |publisher=D. Mason & Co. |ref={{sfnRef|''History of Franklin and Grand Isle Counties, Vermont''}}}}</ref>
==Federal judicial service==
Howell was nominated by President James Madison on November 12, 1812, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island vacated by Judge David L. Barnes.<ref name="auto"/> He was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 16, 1812, and received his commission on November 17, 1812.<ref name="auto"/> His service terminated on July 30, 1824, due to his death in Providence.<ref name="auto"/> He was interred in North Burial Ground in Providence.<ref name="auto1"/>
==Family==
Howell was the father of Jeremiah B. Howell, a United States senator from Rhode Island.<ref name="auto1"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Sources== {{CongBio|H000859|David Howell}} * {{FJC Bio|1107|nid=1382466|name=David Howell<!--(1747–1824)-->}}
==External links== {{Portal|United States|Rhode Island|Biography}} * {{Find a Grave|6947444|accessdate=August 28, 2010}}
{{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=Henry Goodwin}} {{s-ttl|title=Attorney General of Rhode Island|years=1789–1790}} {{s-aft|after=Daniel Berkeley Updike}} {{s-bef|before=David L. Barnes}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island}}|years=1812–1824}} {{s-aft|after=John Pitman}} {{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, David}} Category:1747 births Category:1824 deaths Category:Continental Congressmen from Rhode Island Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island Category:United States federal judges appointed by James Madison Category:19th-century Rhode Island state court judges Category:Justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court Category:Presidents of Brown University Category:Brown University faculty Category:People from colonial Rhode Island Category:People from colonial New Jersey Category:Princeton University alumni Category:Rhode Island attorneys general Category:People from Morristown, New Jersey Category:Burials at North Burying Ground (Providence) Category:Brown University alumni