John Randolph (1727-1784) belonged to one of the most prestigious Virginia families. His father was Sir John Randolph (1693-1737), the only colonial-born Virginian to be honored with knighthood for his services to the Crown. The younger John attended the College of William and Mary, trained at the Inns of Court in London and then practiced law and served as Attorney General of Virginia. In the years of protest before the American Revolution, John was a political moderate who sided with the Crown. He was a close confidant of Virginia Governors Fauquier, Botetourt and Dunmore. In September 1775, after war erupted between colonists and British forces, John took his wife and daughters to England. His son, Edmund, remained in America, serving as an aide-de-camp to General Washington. John lived in England until his death in 1784.