William Stith

Who was William Stith?

William Stith was an early American historian. He is the author of one of the earliest histories of Virginia, The History of the First Discovery and Settlement of Virginia: being an Essay towards a General History of this Colony, published in Williamsburg by William Parks in 1747. He was also the College of William & Mary's third president and is the namesake for Stith Hall on the College's campus.

Stith was the son of Captain John Stith and Mary Randolph, a daughter of William Randolph I. Around 1744, he married his first cousin, Judith Randolph, the daughter of Thomas Randolph of Tuckahoe. They had three daughters: Judith, Elizabeth, and Mary. Stith was educated at The College of William & Mary and The Queen's College, Oxford.