Thomas WILLING, Congress, PA (1731-1821)

WILLING, Thomas, a Delegate from Pennsylvania; born in Philadelphia, Pa., December 19, 1731; completed preparatory studies in Bath, England; studied law in London at the Inner Temple; returned to Philadelphia and engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1793; member of the common council in 1755; alderman in 1759; associate justice of the city court October 2, 1759; justice of the court of common pleas February 28, 1761; mayor of Philadelphia in 1763; associate justice of the supreme court of Pennsylvania 1767-1777; member of the committee of correspondence in 1774 and of the committee of safety in 1775; served in the colonial house of representatives; Member of the Continental Congress in 1775 and 1776; president of the Bank of North America; first president of the Bank of the United States 1792-1807; resumed mercantile pursuits; died in Philadelphia, Pa., January 19, 1821; interment in Christ Churchyard.

Bibliography

Wright, Robert E. “Thomas Willing (1731-1821): Philadelphia Financier and Forgotten Founding Father.” Pennsylvania History 63 (Autumn 1996): 525-60; Konkle, Burton Alva. Thomas Willing and the First American Financial System. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press; London: H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1937.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present