Benjamin Vaughan MD LLD (19 April 1751 – 8 December 1835)[1] was a British commissioner whose role was to smooth negotiations between Britain and the United States during the drafting of the Treaty of Paris.
Vaughan was born in Jamaica (then in the West Indies) to Samuel Vaughan, a British West India merchant planter and an Anglo-American mother Sarah Hallowell.
He attended the University of Cambridge and medicine at the University of Edinburgh. His interest was in politics and sciences, the latter led to his friendship with Benjamin Franklin.
Vaughan was a political economist, merchant and medical doctor, but his diplomatic role was critical to bring peace between Britain and the United States. His friend Lord Shelburne recommended his role in bring peace. He was a middleman in bridging the bitter relations between Franklin and Lord Shelburne. [2]
He was elected at a by-election in 1796 as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the borough of Calne in Wiltshire, and held the seat until the 1796 general election.[3][1]
After 1794, Vaughan left France for Switzerland and later to America. His interest in republicanism lead to his permanent departure from Britain. He settled in Boston and then on a farm in Hallowell, Maine in 1797.
Vaughan later moved to Maine.[4] and died in Hallowell in 1835. His descendents via the Hallowell line continue to reside in Hallowell, Maine.
The City of Vaughan, Ontario is named in his honour.
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Morris Joseph Jekyll |
Member of Parliament for Calne 1792 – 1796 With: Joseph Jekyll |
Succeeded by Sir Francis Baring, Bt Joseph Jekyll |