William Bingham | |
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| President pro tempore of the United States Senate | |
| In office February 16, 1797 – July 6, 1797 | |
| Preceded by | Samuel Livermore |
| Succeeded by | William Bradford |
| United States Senator fromPennsylvania | |
| In office March 4, 1795 – March 3, 1801 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Morris |
| Succeeded by | Peter Muhlenberg |
| 37th and 38th Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives | |
| In office December 4, 1791 – April 10, 1792 | |
| Preceded by | Himself (as Speaker of the Assembly) |
| Succeeded by | Gerardus Wynkoop II |
| Member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives | |
| In office 1793–1794 | |
| Secretary of theCommittee of Secret Correspondence | |
| In office November 29, 1775 – April 17, 1777 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Paine |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1752-03-08)March 8, 1752 |
| Died | February 7, 1804(1804-02-07) (aged 51) |
| Resting place | New York City |
| Political party | Federalist |
| Spouse | Ann Willing |
| Children | Maria Matilda Anne Louisa William |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
| Profession | Banker |
William Bingham (March 8, 1752 – February 7, 1804) was an American statesman and wealthy merchant fromPhiladelphia. He representedPennsylvania as a delegate to theContinental Congress from 1786 to 1788 and later served as aUnited States senator from 1795 to 1801.[1]
Bingham was among the wealthiest Americans of his era, with some accounts describing him as the richest person in the United States around 1780.[2]
William Bingham was born on March 8, 1752, inPhiladelphia.[3] He graduated from the College of Philadelphia (now theUniversity of Pennsylvania) in 1768.
Bingham first travelled to Europe in 1773 and, upon, returning to America joined the Philadelphia Society. Sent by theCommittee of Secret Correspondence to Martinico (today'sMartinique), to reside ostensibly as a merchant and to establish communications through that colony withSilas Deane,[4] the committee's agent in France. He departed America aboard the frigateReprisal on July 3, 1776. During his voyages, he established links with French merchants at Martinique, captured several British ships, and returned in 1777 to America with several full loads of munitions, guns, and other vital goods necessary for the fighting of a war.[5]
Toward the end of theAmerican Revolution, Bingham was regarded as the richest man in the United States.[2] He had made his fortune through joint ownership ofprivateers and trading.[1] He became a major land developer, purchasing lands inupstateNew York (present-dayBinghamton) and 2 million acres (8,000 km2) inMaine (later known as theBingham Purchase).[6] He helped broker theLouisiana Purchase withFrancis Baring andHenry Hope.[7] Their agentAlexander Baring married his daughterAnne.
He was the founder and the first president of thePhiladelphia and Lancaster Turnpike.
Bingham was director of several other enterprises. He maintained shipping ventures after the Revolutionary war, through his mercantile house Bingham, Inglis, and Gilmor. He was a leading member of the Pennsylvania Society for the Encouragement of Manufactures and Useful Arts and donated a Philadelphia property to be converted into a textile factory.[8]
During the 1780s, Bingham marshaled the Second Troop of Philadelphia Light Horse, an outfit of 50 dragoons. They were glamorously clad and saw little action. William Jackson was first major and later became Bingham's land agent. Bingham escorted President-electGeorge Washington through Pennsylvania with his troop on his April 1789 journey from Valley Forge to New York City to assume the presidency.[9]
Bingham was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1787.[10]
During the provisional government of the United States at Philadelphia, he wrote the by-laws for the nationalBank of North America. He saw the national debt as beneficial in that it attracted interest into the affairs of the government. During the first presidency, TreasurerAlexander Hamilton sought Bingham as his mentor in managing taxes, tariffs, and in constructing a national bank.[11]
In America, he represented Pennsylvania as a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1786 to 1788. In 1790 and 1791 he was elected to thePennsylvania House of Representatives, serving as its first speaker in 1791. He oversaw development of the land during a fledgling period of America as a member of the Society of Roads and Inland Navigation, where he worked closely withAlbert Gallatin of western Pennsylvania.[12] After unsuccessfully running in the 1792 election forPennsylvania's at-large congressional district,[13] he was later elected to thePennsylvania State Senate from 1793 through 1794.[14] He built roads and a bridge from Philadelphia to Lancaster, Pennsylvania called the Lancaster Pike.
By 1795, he was elected to theUnited States Senate where he served as aFederalist and Nationalist while it was originally at Philadelphia, but he left for England in 1801 when his wife had taken ill. In the midst ofpublic debate anddissent focused on theJay Treaty he was subjected topolitical violence in Philadelphia in the summer of 1795.[15] He was an active supporter ofJohn Adams and when Adams was elected president, Bingham served as the Senate'sPresident pro tempore in theFourth Congress. On March 4, 1797, with the start of theFifth Congress he administered the oath of office toVice PresidentThomas Jefferson.[16]He was criticized by Jeffersonian politicians for "extravagance, ostentation and dissipation".[1] In 1813, nearly ten years after his death,John Quincy Adams said that the Presidency, the Capital and the Country had been governed by Bingham and his family connections.[1]
The several Bingham estates were renowned for hosting many prominent aristocrats from Europe as well as Federalist meetings. At the Bingham estate, Federalists agreed to hold preliminaryvotings before propositions were brought before Congress publicly, thus creating unanimity among party lines.[17]
He was also aland surveyor, and looked to develop areas currently a part of SouthernNew York, andNorthern Pennsylvania. One of his prime prospects was at the confluence of theChenango River andSusquehanna River. Judge Joshua Whitney Jr., settler and Bingham's agent, called this townBinghamton to honor him. Furthermore, Binghamton's resident universityBinghamton University recognizes Bingham through the naming of Bingham Hall.
He marriedAnne Willing, daughter ofThomas Willing, President of theFirst Bank of the United States, and they had two daughters and a son.
Although his wife and two daughters factored prominently in the social affairs of American politics, Bingham's wife Anne died while his only son William was one year old. William Sr. left William Jr. to grow up in America with his grandfather Thomas Willing.
Bingham died on February 7, 1804, inBath,[19]England and is interred inBath Abbey. His estate remained in the family until the death of William Alexander Baring Bingham (1858-1915) but it was not settled until 1964.[20]
Bingham commissioned artistGilbert Stuart to paint theLansdowne portrait, a 1796 full-length portrait of PresidentGeorge Washington that became a gift toLord Lansdowne. AsBritish Prime Minister, Lansdowne had secured a peaceful end to theAmerican Revolutionary War, and the portrait was commissioned soon after the American approval of theJay Treaty. Stuart also painted portraits of Bingham, his wife and children.
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| U.S. Senate | ||
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| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 3) from Pennsylvania 1795–1801 Served alongside:James Ross | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President pro tempore of the United States Senate 1797 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Office Created | Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives 1791–1792 | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
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| Class 3 | ||
| Notes | † Never officially seated | |
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