Samuel Eliot (116)

Samuel Eliot (25 August 1739–18 January 1820) was a merchant and philanthropist, and a member of the American Philosophical Society via his 1768 election to the American Society. Born in Boston, he attended Boston Latin School before apprenticing as a merchant. This profession suited Eliot well and in the years to come he started his own firm. Through trips to England, where he cultivated connections with manufacturers, suppliers, and agents, his business grew into a wildly successful one. Though he was a social man with extensive professional and personal networks, he disdained public officeholding. However, in the years before the American Revolution, he voiced his opinions about imperial taxation. While others called for boycotts on British imports, Eliot was vocal in his support for the continuation of trade. Following the Battles of Lexington and Concord, Eliot and his family left Boston. The steps he had taken to safeguard his store allowed him to quickly resume business once the British occupation ended. Later in life, Eliot quietly but actively pursued a variety of philanthropic endeavors ranging from endowing a Greek professorship at Harvard University to paying all the charges for persons imprisoned for debt at a local jail on one occasion. While never active at the APS, he was a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Humane Society of Massachusetts, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He also served as the president of the Massachusetts Bank from 1798 until his death in 1820. (PI)