Benjamin Say (August 28, 1755 – April 23, 1813) was a member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania.
Benjamin Say was born inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, to Thomas (1709–1796) and Rebekah Atkinson Budd Say (1716–1795),[1] He married Ann Bartram Bonsall (1759–1793) on Oct. 1, 1776, a granddaughter of naturalistJohn Bartram.[2][1] Their sonThomas Say (1787–1835) became a pioneering entomologist.
Say graduated from the medical department of theUniversity of Pennsylvania inPhiladelphia in 1780 and practiced in that city. He also worked as anapothecary. He served in theAmerican Revolutionary War, and was a fellow of theCollege of Physicians of Philadelphia, of which he was one of the founders in 1787, and was treasurer from 1791 to 1809. He was a member of thePennsylvania Prison Society and president of the Pennsylvania Humane Society. He was a member of thePennsylvania State Senate.[3]
Say was elected as aDemocratic-Republican to theTenth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation ofJoseph Clay. He was reelected to theEleventh Congress and served until his resignation in June 1809.
He had a grand house to the southwest of the then-borders of Philadelphia. Dubbed "The Cliffs", it overlooked theSchuylkill River nearGray's Ferry, just upriver fromthe Bartram estate.[4]
He died in Philadelphia in 1813.
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 1st congressional district 1808–1809 1808–1809 alongside:Jacob Richards John Porter 1809 alongside:William Anderson | Succeeded by |
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