Richard Penn (94)

Richard Penn (1735–27 May 1811), grandson of Pennsylvania founder William Penn, was lieutenant governor of the province and a patron and member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1768. Born in England, the second son of Pennsylvania proprietor Richard Penn, Sr., he attended St. John's College, Cambridge, without taking a degree. In 1763, with his future prospects uncertain, he joined his brother, Pennsylvania Governor (and APS member) John Penn, in the province, where he was given a seat on the council. Richard went back to England in 1769 but returned to Pennsylvania two years later to assume the office of lieutenant governor when his father’s death called John back to England. Richard’s abrupt dismissal when John resumed the governorship in 1773 briefly caused a rift between the two brothers. Following their reconciliation, Richard was named Naval Officer of the Port. Sympathetic to the patriot cause and having earned the colonists’ trust during his tenure, he was tasked by the Continental Congress with delivering its final petition to the king in 1775. He was subsequently called to testify on American affairs before the House of Lords. He spent most of the rest of his life in England, serving in Parliament four times. His dire financial circumstances resulting from the American Revolution were improved by the significant compensation the new government accorded him for his lost lands. He visited Pennsylvania a final time before his death in England in 1811. His brother John Penn and cousin Granville Penn were APS members. (PI, DNB, DAB).