Samuel Mifflin (119)

Election date: 1768 (Elected to the revived American Philosophical Society.)
APS Office(s): Samuel Mifflin (13 March 1725–14 May 1781) was a merchant, judge, and public officeholder, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1768. Raised up in his family’s mercantile business, he spent several years captaining a trading vessel before settling in Philadelphia around 1748. Soon afterwards he entered politics. An ardent supporter of the proprietary party, Mifflin readily served in appointed positions focused on improving Philadelphia’s infrastructure including paving streets and wharf maintenance. He was elected a justice of the peace and judge of the court of Quarter Session and Common pleas; he was also elected mayor in 1761, though he declined the office. Though busy in business and politics, he made time to support a number of charitable causes including the Pennsylvania Hospital. During the American Revolution, Mifflin consistently acted in the interest of the American cause, beginning with signing the Non-Importation Agreement, purchasing gunpowder for Continental troops, and later serving as a commanding officer of a Pennsylvania artillery battalion. He died before the war ended after a prolonged illness. (PI)

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