Joseph Richardson (93)

Joseph Richardson (6 December 1706–17 November 1770) was a merchant and public officeholder, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1768. Born near Wilmington, Delaware, Richardson learned much under the tutelage of his father, a successful merchant and businessman. In young adulthood, Richardson moved to Philadelphia and immediately made good use of his father’s financial support and business connections to build his own thriving mercantile business. His business moved goods from Philadelphia to southern ports in South Carolina and Georgia and across the Atlantic Ocean to such places as the West Indies, Cadiz, Gibraltar, and the Madeira Islands. In addition to pursuing his business ventures, Richardson served in the Pennsylvania Assembly from 1763 to 1769, where he frequently served on committees. Leading up to the American Revolution, he was active in the Assembly’s response to British imperial policies and signed the Non-Importation Agreement in 1765. Although he was never an active member of the APS, he was a manager and generous contributor to the Pennsylvania Hospital and a subscriber to the Silk Society and the Society for the Relief of Poor and Distressed Masters of Ships. His sole heir, his daughter, would marry APS member Nicholas Waln. (PI)