David Humphreys (soldier)

David Humphreys was an American Revolutionary War colonel and aide de camp to George Washington, a secretary and intelligence agent for Benjamin Franklin in Paris, American minister to Portugal and then to Spain, entrepreneur who brought Merino sheep to America, and member of the Connecticut state legislature. He also was a prolific poet and author and a member of the Hartford Wits. As secretary and speechwriter to George Washington during his administration, Humphreys was the nation's first U.S. presidential speechwriter.