Strong was born in Massachusetts in 1745.
He graduated from Harvard with honors.
In his early twenties, he contracted smallpox, which damaged his sight.
Strong became a lawyer, serving in various local and state offices in Massachusetts.
He declined a seat in the Continental Congress.
Strong took part in the Philadelphia Convention until August, when he left because of an illness in the family and was not able to sign the Constitution, although he supported it.
At the convention, Strong was in favor of a strong central government and supported proportional representation in the House and equal representation in the Senate.
Strong campaigned for ardently for ratification of the Constitution in Massachusetts and was a leading Federalist at that state’s ratifying convention.
Strong was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1789, resigning in 1795 to return to his law practice.
He served as governor of Massachusetts from 1800 to 1807 and again from 1812 to 1816.
