From birth in England, early years in the Waxhaw settlement in South Carolina, education at Princeton, and service in the colonial army, William Richardson Davie returned to North Carolina to study law in Salisbury. He enlisted in the colonial army, became seriously wounded, and organized a troop of cavalry and two companies of mounted infantry. With these troops, he was instrumental in keeping the Tories at bay in western North Carolina. Following the Revolutionary War, he settled in Halifax and became a circuit riding lawyer. He was instrumental in the state adopting the state constitution and the General Assembly chartering the state university in 1786. He helped choose the site, the professors, the course of studies, and the discipline regulations. For that support he is known as the Father of the University of North Carolina. On the Chapel Hill campus, his role in the founding of the university is noted by the commemorative "Davie poplar" He was elected governor in 1798, to serve one term. His spent his retirement days at "Tivoli" on the Catawba River in South Carolina.