Jonathan Williams

Jonathan Williams (May 20, 1750 – May 16, 1815) was an American military officer, engineer, and politician. He served as the first superintendent of the United States Military Academy from 1801 to 1803 and from 1805 to 1812. He served as chief of engineers of the United States Army Corps of Engineers from 1802 to 1803 and from 1805 to 1812. He led the construction of fortifications in New York Harbor from 1807 to 1811, including Castle Williams, the first casemated battery in the United States. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania in 1815 but died before the 14th United States Congress assembled.

Early life and education Williams was born in Boston on May 20, 1750. He was a grandnephew of Benjamin Franklin. He graduated from Harvard in 1787 with an A.M. degree and worked at a bank in Boston. and served as secretary.

He led the construction of fortifications of New York Harbor. From 1807 to 1811 Williams designed and completed construction of Castle Williams (the East Battery) and Castle Clinton (the West Battery). Castle Williams was the first casemated battery in the United States. He eventually returned to Philadelphia and pursued scientific and literary efforts. He was elected to the Fourteenth United States Congress from that city in 1814. and was re-interred to Laurel Hill Cemetery in 1862.

Legacy In 1802, the investor Richard Woodhull purchased in the Town of Bushwick and named the area Williamsburgh (later changed to Williamsburg), after Williams, who surveyed the land.

In 1810, Castle Williams on Governors Island was named in his honor.

Jonathan Williams Plaza, a public housing project in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was named after him.

Publications Memoir on the Use of the Thermometer in Navigation; Presented to the American Philosophical Society, Held at Philadelphia, for Promoting Useful Knowledge, Philadelphia: R. Aitken & Son, 1792