Elbridge who? How the name of a forgotten founder lives on in the word 'gerrymander'

A portrait of Gov. Elbridge Gerry hangs in a hallway at the State House in Boston. In 1812, Gerry drew up a redistricting plan to protect his cronies — leading to the word "gerrymander." Ronaldo Schemidt/AP hide caption

You've heard of Samuel Adams and John Hancock, the Massachusetts patriots who signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation.

But spare a thought for another member of the pantheon: Elbridge Gerry . He unwittingly gave us "gerrymander," our Word of the Week — part of NPR's series examining the origin and etymology of common words.

As Founding Fathers go, it's safe to say that Gerry (pronounced "Gary") is not the most prominent, even though he was among the earliest and most vocal supporters of American independence from Great Britain. Later, Gerry was one of only three delegates to the Constitutional Convention who refused to put his name on the document in part because at the time it lacked a Bill of Rights — those first 10 amendments that lay down basic freedoms and protections.

Protesters hold a banner reading "Resist Racial Gerrymandering" while marching during a Labor Day "Workers Over Billionaires" rally in Houston on Sept. 1, 2025. Behind them are mounted police officers. Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

He even became President James Madison's second vice president, although he died in office less than two years later.

"Gerry was important, particularly in the early years during the Revolutionary War," says historian and author David O. Stewart.

Stewart says Gerry was "a fiery guy," though he was also "small and skinny," with a "squint and a stutter." His 20th-century biographer, George Athan Billias, described him as a "nervous, birdlike little person." John Adams, meanwhile, saw in Gerry a stubborn streak that made him willing to fight over minor matters, writing that he "will risk great things to secure small ones."