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Samuel Vaughan
Samuel Vaughan (1720–1802) was a merchant, slaveholder, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1784. Born in Ireland, Vaughan relocated to Jamaica in 1737 where he purchased land and enslaved people with which he established a plantation.
Thaddeus Kosciusko
Thaddeus Kosciusko (12 February 1746–15 October 1817) was a military officer, revolutionary, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1785. Born to a family of minor nobility near Kosów, Poland, his status as youngest of four sons granted Kosciosko little inheritance. After studying under an uncle and a brief stint at a Jesuit school, Kosciusko moved to Lubieszów and studied at the Piarist college there (1755-1760), and afterwards entered the Royal Military School in Warsaw with sponsorship from Prince Casimir Czartoryski (1765).
Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley (13 March 1733–6 February 1804) was an educator, minister, scientist, writer, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1785. Born to a clothmaker and his wife, Priestley spent much of his early childhood with his grandparents, before his aunt adopted him after the death of his mother in 1739. He likely studied at Batley Grammar school, learning Latin and Greek. He later learned Hebrew and taught himself French, German, and Italian in anticipation of entering the mercantile profession with an uncle in Lisbon.
James Hutchinson
James Hutchinson (29 January 1752–6 September 1793) was a physician, an activist, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1779. He was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania to a Quaker family, and began his medical studies as a young man, first through an apprenticeship to druggists and, in 1771, as a student to APS Member Cadwalader Evans.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (13 April 1743–4 July 1826) was a politician, diplomat, author of the Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, slaveholder, and a Member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1780. Born in Albemarle county, Virginia, to Peter Jefferson, a slaveholding plantation owner and politician, and his wife Jane Randolph, young Thomas Jefferson entered the world with privileges which enabled him to become a remarkable young student.
Friedrich W. von Steuben
Friedrich W. von Steuben (17 September 1730–28 November 1794) was a military officer and strategist and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1780. Von Steuben was born in Magdeburg, Prussia to a military family, and began his own service in his teenage years. He became a captain in the Prussian army during the Seven Years’ War and was a member of the general staff, the army’s strategic leadership branch. At the end of the war, von Steuben settled at Hohenzollern-Hechingen where he served as a chamberlain to the prince.
Motier Theodore Lafayette
Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette
(6 September 1757–20 May 1834) was a soldier, statesman, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1781. Born in Chevaniac, France, Lafayette began his studies at the Collège du Plessis in Paris. Though orphaned in 1770, his inheritance made him a rich marquis. In 1774, he married into a powerful family and became a dragoon captain.
Robert Patterson Sr.
Robert Patterson, Sr. (30 May 1743–22 July 1824) was an educator, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1783. Born on a farm in County Down, Ireland, Patterson excelled in his early schooling, however his family lacked the funds to send him to a university. After a brief stint in the Irish militia, he continued work on the family farm before seeking opportunities across the Atlantic, moving to Philadelphia in 1768.
John Vaughan
John Vaughan (15 January 1756–30 December 1841) was a merchant, librarian, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1784. Born in London, England, to plantation owner and slaveholder Samuel Vaughan and his American wife Sarah Hallowell, John Vaughan’s birth destined him for wealth and prosperity. Upon reaching adulthood, John Vaughan initially went to Jamaica, location of his father’s many plantations. In 1778, his father sent him to France to expand his mercantile training and absorb the French language.
David Rittenhouse
David Rittenhouse (8 April 1732–26 June 1796) was an astronomer, instrument-maker, mathematician, and public official. He was also a prominent member of the American Philosophical Society, first elected to the American Society in 1767, and an agent of its revival following the American Revolution. Born near Germantown, Pennsylvania, he showed a precocious scientific and mechanical aptitude but lacked opportunities for formal education.