Robert R. Livingston (1746-1813), U.S. statesman and diplomat, great-grandson of the prominent colonial figure Robert Livingston, born in New York City, and educated at King's College (now Columbia University). He was a lawyer and a member of the Continental Congress from 1775 to 1777 and from 1779 to 1781. During his first term he was also one of five members of the committee that drew up the Declaration of Independence. He was chancellor of New York State from 1777 to 1801, U.S. secretary of foreign affairs under the Articles of Confederation from 1781 to 1783, and minister to France from 1801 to 1804. In the last-named post he successfully negotiated the Louisiana Purchase by the United States. He financed the American engineer Robert Fulton in the building of his steamboat and for some time held a monopoly on Hudson River navigation.