Thomas Willing

Thomas Willing (December 19, 1731 - January 19, 1821) was an American merchant and financier and a Delegate to the Continental Congress from Pennsylvania.

Born in Philadelphia, the son of Charles Willing, Thomas Willing completed preparatory studies in Bath, England. He studied law in London at the Inner 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 on October 2, 1759, and then justice of the court of common pleas February 28, 1761. Willing then became Mayor of Philadelphia in 1763, then an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania 1767 to 1777. A member of the committee 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 the Declaration 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.

Willing died in Philadelphia in 1821 and is interred in Christ Churchyard.

[edit] References

Wright, Robert E. Thomas Willing (1731-1821): Philadelphia Financier and Forgotten Founding Father. Pennsylvania History 63 (Autumn 1996): 525-60.
This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Columbia Encyclopedia article