Paterson, William, 1745-1806, American political leader and jurist, b. Co. Antrim, Ireland. He emigrated to America as a child. Raised in New Jersey, he practiced law there and was attorney general (1776-83) of the state before he became a delegate to the Federal Constitutional Convention (1787). He was prominent as a champion of the rights of the small states; he set forth the New Jersey, or small state, plan (sometimes called the Paterson plan). He later played a prominent part in state and national life as U.S. Senator (1789-90), governor of New Jersey (1791-93), and Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1793-1806).