John Vaughan (421)

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. It was there that the junior Vaughan met Benjamin Franklin, and his grandson, William Temple Franklin. In 1782, Vaughan moved to Philadelphia, the city of his two new friends, and began a business importing Jamaican rum and wines. His business likely succeeded quickly, as soon thereafter, Vaughan began dedicating most of his time to intellectual pursuits. In 1784, both he and his father joined the American Philosophical Society and became Members. However, John became particularly important to the Society: he partially funded the construction of Philosophical Hall (1785), and later served as secretary (1789), treasurer (1789), and Librarian (1803). In his role as Librarian he gathered, donated, and catalogued countless tomes for the Society, and even proposed a National Library which would compound the catalogues of many libraries and institutions nationwide. In further pursuing his dream of national int.ellectual expansion, he cultivated an intellectual community far beyond the reaches of the APS, and he regularly hosted Sunday breakfasts and parties where we would introduce various scholars, philosophers, and scientists to one another. He also actively engaged in membership to numerous other learned societies: serving as President of Pennsylvania Institution for Instruction of the Blind, President of the Society of Sons at St. George, Director of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Vice President at the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, trustee of the Unitarian Society, and councillor of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the Athenian Institute. Still, he found time to keep his foot in the door of the financial sector: Vaughan was secretary and treasurer of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, director of the Insurance Company of North America and of the Delaware Insurance Company, and an agent in the firm of E.I. duPont de Nemours and Company. Among the most well-known Philadelphians by 1820, in 1838 a number of his colleagues formed the “Vaughan Club,” which honored him annually on his birthday by requiring each member to bring a rare wine, all of which were to be completed before the conclusion of their annual gathering. Resigning some of his responsibilities a year later, he died in his lodgings at Philosophical Hall, the building he helped raise. He never received commemoration for his contributions to the Society, however, as it was discovered posthumously that he had embezzled APS funds. (ANB, et al.)