Wikijunior:American Founding Fathers/George Mason

George Mason

Who is this?

George Mason

What did he do that made him important?

George Mason was a United States patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention. He is called the "Father of the Bill of Rights". For all of these reasons he is considered to be one of the "Founding Fathers" of the United States. However, he refused to sign the Constitution.

What did he do when he was young?

George Mason was born on December 11, 1725 to George and Ann Thomson Mason at the Mason family plantation in Fairfax County, Virginia. On April 4, 1750, he married sixteen-year-old Ann Eilbeck, from a plantation in Charles County, Maryland. They lived in a house on his property in Dogue's Neck, Virginia. He and his wife had twelve children, nine of whom survived to adulthood.

What did he do afterward?

George Mason died in his home, Gunston Hall, on October 7, 1792.

How do we remember him today?

George Mason's home has been turned into a museum in his honor. There are also countless things named after him including:

• George Mason University, located in Virginia
• Mason County, Kentucky
• Mason County, West Virginia
• Mason County, Illinois