FACTBOX: David Paterson to become new New York governor

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Lieutenant Governor David Paterson was set to become the state's first black governor and the first legally blind governor in U.S. history, after the resignation of Gov. Eliot Spitzer on Wednesday.

Paterson, 53, became New York's first African-American lieutenant governor in November 2006. He has been legally blind since childhood, with only partial sight in his right eye.

Spitzer resigned after media reports linked him to a prostitution ring. He said Paterson would take over on Monday.

The following are some facts about Paterson:

* Paterson was born in Brooklyn to Portia and Basil Paterson. His father 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.

* 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.

* In 2004, he became the first legally blind person to address the Democratic National Convention.

* In 2006, Paterson was elected New York's first African-American lieutenant governor.

* Paterson ran the New York City marathon in 1999.

* Paterson, an adjunct professor at Columbia's School for International and Public Affairs, lives in Harlem with his wife, Michelle Paige Paterson, and their two children.

(Reporting by Walden Siew; editing by Gary Crosse and Eric Walsh)