Maryland’s Governor While Congress Met

William Paca was born in 1740 in Baltimore County, Maryland. He received his formal education in Philadelphia, studied the law in Annapolis, and completed his legal training in London.
Returning to Annapolis in 1761, Paca quickly became a proponent of America's independence from England. He served as a delegate to the Maryland Convention, the Committee of Correspondence, the Committee of Safety, and the Constitutional Convention. He also served in the First and Second Continental Congresses.

One of Maryland’s four signers of the Declaration of Independence, Paca was serving as governor while Congress met in Annapolis from November 1783-August 1784.