Thomas Mifflin

Description

Oil on canvas portrait painting of "Thomas Mifflin" (1744-1800), ca. 1795, by Rembrandt Peale and Raphaelle Peale after Charles Willson Peale. Mifflin was born in Philadelphia, attended the University of Pennsylvania, and became a successful merchant at a young age. Before the American Revolution, he became involved in politics and served as a member of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly (1772-1776). Mifflin also served in the Continental Congress (1774-1775 ). When the Revolutionary War began, he joined the Continental Army with the rank of major and served as aide-de-camp to General George Washington (1732-1799) before his appointment to Quartermaster General. Mifflin served in numerous engagements, including the Battles of Trenton (1776) and Princeton (1777), which led to his promotion of major general. After the war, he served a second term in the Continental Congress (1782-1784), as Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1785-1787), as President of the Pennsylvania Supreme Executive Council (1788-1790), was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention (1787), and was one of the signers of the U.S. Constitution. Mifflin then served as the First Governor of Pennsylvania (1790-1799). He is buried at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.