- Thomas Willing
Thomas Willing (
December 19 ,1731 –January 19 ,1821 ) was an American merchant and financier and a Delegate to theContinental Congress fromPennsylvania .Born in
Philadelphia , the son ofCharles Willing , Thomas Willing completed preparatory studies inBath, England . He studied law inLondon at theInner Temple then returned to Philadelphia and engaged in mercantile pursuits, in partnership with Robert Morris, until 1793. A member of the common council in 1755, he became an alderman in 1759, associate justice of the city court onOctober 2 ,1759 , and then justice of the court of common pleasFebruary 28 ,1761 . Willing then becameMayor of Philadelphia in 1763, then an associate justice of theSupreme Court of Pennsylvania 1767 to 1777. A member of thecommittee of correspondence in 1774 and of the committee of safety in 1775, he served in the colonial house of representatives.As a member of the
Continental Congress in 1775 and 1776, he voted against theDeclaration of Independence . Later, however, he subscribed £5,000 to supply the revolutionary cause.After the war, he became president of the
Bank of North America (1781–92), preceding John Nixon, and then the first president of the Bank of the United States from 1791 to 1811, after which he resumed mercantile pursuits. His daughter, Anne Willing, was a prominent socialite and married the richest man in America at that time,William Bingham .Willing died in Philadelphia in 1821 and is interred in
Christ Church Burial Ground .References
*Wright, Robert E. "Thomas Willing (1731-1821): Philadelphia Financier and Forgotten Founding Father." Pennsylvania History 63 (Autumn 1996): 525-60.
* [http://www.bartleby.com/65/wi/Willing.html Columbia Encyclopedia article]External links
* [http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/features/1700s/people/willing_thos.html Biographical sketch and portrait at the University of Pennsylvania]
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