Samuel Rhoads (7)

Election date: 1743 (Elected to the original American Philosophical Society.)
APS Office(s): Vice-president of the APS (1770-1779)

Samuel Rhoads (1711–7 April 1784) was a carpenter, architect, and elected official, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, both in its original and revived forms. Born in Philadelphia County, Rhoads was a director of the Library Company, the Union Fire Company, and the Philadelphia Contributionship and a member of the Board of Managers of the Almshouse. In addition to his tenure as mayor, he served on the Philadelphia Common Council, the Pennsylvania Assembly, and as an alderman. In these capacities, he oversaw numerous public works commissions, including one tasked with laying out new streets as Philadelphia grew. In 1772, Rhoads undertook a survey with APS president David Rittenhouse to promote the building of canals connecting the Schuylkill and Susquehanna Rivers. And as mayor, he oversaw the building of a city hall and courthouse. Perhaps his greatest achievement as an architect was designing the Pennsylvania Hospital, co-founded by APS members Thomas Bond, Sr., and Benjamin Franklin; Rhoads was also one of the hospital’s twelve original managers. He was on the APS committee that sought funds to build an observatory for the 1769 Transit of Venus and the committee that published the first volume of the Society’s Transactions in 1771. A moderate supporter of the American Revolution, he was a delegate to the First Continental Congress. (PI)

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