Detail of a half-length portrait of Jonathan Trumbull – Connecticut Historical Society
Jonathan Trumbull, Sr. (1710-1785)
Jonathan Trumbull was a merchant and politician who rose to become one of the most famous governors in Connecticut’s history. Born in Lebanon, Connecticut, in 1710, Jonathan attended Harvard and studied for the ministry before beginning a trading partnership with his brother in 1731. After playing a vital role in supplying troops during the French and Indian War, Trumbull won election as deputy governor of Connecticut in 1766. With the death of Governor William Pitkin in 1769, Trumbull became governor of the colony. During the Revolutionary War, Trumbull was the only governor to side with the colonists, subsequently making him both the last governor of the Connecticut colony and the first governor of the state of Connecticut.
