<P> New Jersey was the only province to have two colleges established during the colonial period, and the colony's governors were influential in their establishment . Governors John Hamilton, John Reading, and Jonathan Belcher aided the establishment of The College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) which was founded in 1746 in Elizabethtown by a group of Great Awakening "New Lighters" that included Jonathan Dickinson, Aaron Burr, Sr. and Peter Van Brugh Livingston . In 1756, the school moved to Princeton . In 1766, Governor William Franklin issued the charters to establish Queens College (now Rutgers University) in New Brunswick to "educate the youth in language, liberal, the divinity, and useful arts and sciences" and for the training of future ministers for the Dutch Reformed Church . Franklin issued a second charter in 1770 after the college's trustees requested amendments . </P> <P> In the last year of William Franklin's tenure, his power was diminished and he became marginalized by the rebellious sentiment rising in the colony's residents . The province was being run de facto by the Provincial Congress of New Jersey (1775--76). While colonial militia had put Franklin under house arrest in January 1776, he would not be formally deposed until June 1776 when the colony's Provincial Congress had him imprisoned . Franklin considered the Provincial Congress to be an "illegal assembly ." Under the direction of its president Samuel Tucker (1721--89), the Provincial Congress proceeded to adopt a state constitution and reorganize the province into an independent state . The newly formed State of New Jersey elected William Livingston as its first governor on 31 August 1776 . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Portrait </Th> <Th> Governor </Th> <Th> Took office </Th> <Th> Left office </Th> <Th> Notes </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Lewis Morris (1671--1746) </Td> <Td> 1738 </Td> <Td> 1746 </Td> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Previously served in the Provincial Council, Assembly and as acting governor . </Li> <Li> Morris died in office in 1746 . </Li> <Li> Morris County, Morristown, Morris Plains, and Morris Township are named in his honour . </Li> <Li> Morris's tenure was marked with bitter disputes and deadlocks between himself and factions in the colonial legislature--so bitter that after his death when his widow requested the arrears on his salary, the legislature refused citing that the request was "a subject so universally disliked...there is none will say one Word in its Favour ." </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td>--</Td> <Td> John Hamilton </Td> <Td> 1746 </Td> <Td> 1747 </Td> <Td> <Ul> <Li> See notes above . </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td>--</Td> <Td> John Reading (1686--1767) </Td> <Td> 1747 </Td> <Td> 1747 </Td> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Acting governor in his role as President of Council . </Li> <Li> Readington Village and Readington Township in Hunterdon County was named in his honour . </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Jonathan Belcher (1681 / 2--1757) </Td> <Td> 1747 </Td> <Td> 1757 </Td> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Aided the early development of The College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). </Li> <Li> Fortified the upper Delaware River valley to prevent Indian attacks during the French and Indian War . </Li> <Li> Thomas Pownall was appointed to be Belcher's Lieutenant Governor (1755--57), the first since Richard Ingoldesby served under Lord Cornbury and Lord Lovelace, and the last until the state reinstated the office in 2010 . Pownall assumed the governorship of Massachusetts on August 3, 1757 . </Li> <Li> Belcher died in office on 31 August 1757 . </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td>--</Td> <Td> John Reading (1686--1767) </Td> <Td> 1757 </Td> <Td> 1758 </Td> <Td> <Ul> <Li> See notes above . </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Francis Bernard (1712--79) </Td> <Td> 1758 </Td> <Td> 1760 </Td> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Arrived in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, on 14 June 1758 . </Li> <Li> In late 1759 was appointed governor of Massachusetts . </Li> <Li> Bernardsville, a borough in Somerset County is named in his honour . </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td>--</Td> <Td> Thomas Boone (c. 1730--1812) </Td> <Td> 1760 </Td> <Td> 1761 </Td> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Appointed in 1759, but did not arrive in New Jersey until 10 May 1760, and did not meet with the colonial assembly until 30 October 1760 . </Li> <Li> In 1761, Boone was appointed Governor of South Carolina . </Li> <Li> Boonton in Morris County was named in his honour . </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td>--</Td> <Td> Josiah Hardy (1715--90) </Td> <Td> 1761 </Td> <Td> 1763 </Td> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Son of Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Hardy (1680--1744), Lord commissioner of the Admiralty, brother to Sir Charles Hardy (1716--80), Royal Governor of New York . </Li> <Li> Hardy gained "a reputation for promptness, attentiveness and openness" as New Jersey's governor . </Li> <Li> Replaced in 1763 in an effort to impose greater imperial authority over the colonies following the French and Indian War . </Li> <Li> Hardyston Township in Sussex County was named in his honour . </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> William Franklin (c. 1730--1814) </Td> <Td> 1763 </Td> <Td> 1776 </Td> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Despite his reputation for arrogance, stubbornness and a fiery temper, Franklin is considered one of the more popular and successful chief executives in New Jersey history . </Li> <Li> Issued charters to found Queen's College (now Rutgers University). </Li> <Li> Franklin was placed under house arrest by colonial militia in 1776 by the order of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey, an entity he referred to as an "illegal assembly ." </Li> <Li> Franklin Township and Franklin Lakes in Bergen County, and possibly Franklin Township in Somerset County, were named in his honour . </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> Portrait </Th> <Th> Governor </Th> <Th> Took office </Th> <Th> Left office </Th> <Th> Notes </Th> </Tr>

Who was the first governor of new jersey colony