Benjamin Hazard was a Rhode Island legislator, attorney and member of the secessionist Hartford Convention

Hartford Convention

The Hartford Convention was an event spanning from December 15, 1814–January 4, 1815 in the United States during the War of 1812 in which New England's opposition to the war reached the point where secession from the United States was discussed...

.

Hazard was born on September 18, 1770 in Middletown, Rhode Island

Middletown, Rhode Island

Middletown is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 16,150 at the 2010 census. It lies to the south of Portsmouth and to the north of Newport on Aquidneck Island, hence the name "Middletown."-Geography:...

. He graduated from Brown University

Brown University

Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...

 in the class of 1792 and later married Harriet Lyman, daughter of Daniel Lyman

Daniel Lyman

Daniel Lyman was a New England soldier, Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court and member of the secessionist Hartford Convention....

 and Mary Wanton. Hazard then studied the law, and was admitted to the bar in 1796 and started a law practice in Newport, Rhode Island

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...

. In 1809, he was first elected a Representative from Newport and served as Speaker of the House from October 1816, to May 1818. Hazard retired from the Rhode Island General Assembly

Rhode Island General Assembly

The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 representatives, and the upper Rhode Island Senate with 38 senators...

 in 1840. He died in his Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House

Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House

The Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House is the oldest surviving house in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. Built ca. 1697, it is also one of the oldest surviving houses in the state...

 on March 10, 1841. Hazard was an active member of Trinity Church

Trinity Church (Newport, Rhode Island)

Trinity Church, on Queen Anne Square in Newport, Rhode Island, is a historic parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island. Founded in 1698, it is the oldest Episcopal parish in the state. The current Georgian building was designed by architect Richard Munday and constructed in...

in Newport.