William Pinkney (March 17, 1764 – February 25, 1822) was an American statesman and diplomat, and was appointed the seventh U.S. attorney general by President James Madison.
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Early life and education
Pinkney was born in 1764 in Annapolis in the Province of Maryland, then one of the Thirteen Colonies of British America. His parents' home was on the banks of the Severn River, from where the family could see the Chesapeake Bay. He had English ancestry.
Pinkney attended King William School, a private school, which is now St. John's College. His teacher was a Mr. Brefhard. Although Pinkney left school at age 13, he had impressed his teacher with his intelligence, and Brefhard agreed to give the youth private lessons at home.
Pinkney studied medicine (which he did not practice) and read the law with an established firm, as was the practice at the time for aspiring lawyers. He was admitted to the bar in 1786. After practicing law for two years in Harford County, Maryland, Pinkney was elected as a delegate to Maryland's state constitutional convention.
Pinkney was an excellent orator who possessed an impressive command of language. He was said to have been articulate and pleasing in manner.