Federalist lawyer and politician.

Practiced law in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Member of the Confederation Congress (1784-87). Delegate to the Constitutional Convention (1787), where he argued vigorously for a strong national government.

Settled in New York. United States Senator (1789-96, 1813-25). Director of the Bank of the United States (1791). United States ambassador to Britain (1796-1803, 1825-26). Federalist candidate for vice-president (1804, 1808) and for president (1816).

Son of Richard and Isabella (Bragdon) King of Scarboro, Maine. Educated at Harvard (B.A. 1777). Married Mary Alsop, daughter of John Alsop in 1786; seven children.