Thomas Pryor (80)

Election date: 1768 (Elected to the revived American Philosophical Society and the American Society in 1768.)

Thomas Pryor (28 May 1736–21 May 1801) was a merchant and public official and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1768. Born in Philadelphia, Pryor learned the family trade of baking, but he then left it to pursue the more lucrative position of inspector of flour for Philadelphia, the first of several appointed offices that would later include city regulator (alongside APS members David Rittenhouse, John Lukens, and James Pearson) and port warden. Devoted to learning, Pryor owned a telescope and a thermometer and was an active member of several APS committees, including those concerned with observing the 1769 Transit of Venus. He was also active in a number of other learned and charitable societies, including the Union Library Company, Library Company of Philadelphia, Silk Society, and Humane Society. Pryor was a firm supporter of American independence. During the Revolutionary War, he experimented with the manufacture of saltpeter and sold gunlocks to the Pennsylvania militia. He also denounced the Quaker practice of disowning supporters of the war effort. Following the war, he returned to seeking offices and outlets for his intellectual interests. (PI)

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