FACTBOX - New York may get first African-American governor

NEW YORK (Reuters) - David A. Paterson became New York's 74th lieutenant governor on November 7, 2006, the first African-American to hold that post.

Paterson, 53, is seen on the verge of becoming the state's new governor if current Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigns in the wake of a report in The New York Times linking him to a prostitution ring.

The report shocked New Yorkers as well as Wall Street. Spitzer on Monday apologized for a "private matter," but made no reference to the reports.

Spitzer's resignation would make Paterson New York's first African-American and first legally blind governor.

The following are some facts about Paterson.

* Paterson was born in Brooklyn to Portia and Basil Paterson. His father who was the first non-white secretary of state of New York and the first African-American vice chair of the national Democratic Party.

* He earned his bachelor's degree in history from Columbia University, graduating in 1977, and completed his law degree at Hofstra Law School in 1982.

* A lawyer by training, Paterson became a public servant in 1985 when he began representing Harlem in the New York State Senate, according to the New York governor's Web site.

* In 2002, he became the body's minority leader, the first non-white legislative leader in New York state history.