John Gibson (194)

John Gibson (19 November 1729–3 April 1782) was a merchant and a public officeholder, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1768. Born in Virginia, his parents sent a youthful Gibson to Philadelphia, where he eventually worked under successful merchants William Allen and Joseph Turner. By 1761, after almost a decade of experience trading in the West Indians, Gibson began his own trading ventures in European and East Indian goods. As Gibson’s business grew, he ran his shop at a series of locations throughout the city and expanded his property and land holdings into Lancaster County, PA and Accomac County, VA. With his market acumen and rising social status, Gibson served in a series of public offices: Philadelphia’s Common Council in 1762, alderman in 1767, and finally as mayor in 1771 and 1772. By the time of the American Revolution, Gibson had already established himself as a leading figure in the struggle for independence, particular in matters that related to finance. He signed the Non-Importation Agreements of 1765 and 1769 and was elected auditor general by the Continental Congress in 1776 and reelected in 1778. In 1779 when Congress created the Board of Treasury, Gibson was elected as a commissioner to disburse funds. Following the war, he proved more moderate in his political stances, opposing the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776. In the midst of making plans to recover from the financial stresses that followed the war, Gibson died in Philadelphia. Apart from business and politics, he was active in a number of Philadelphia institutions including St. Andrew’s Society, the Pennsylvania Hospital, and APS’s Silk Society. (PI)