William White (160)

Elected to the American Society.

William White (4 April 1748–17 July 1836) was a bishop and a member of the American Philosophical Society via his 1768 election to the American Society. Elected at the age of twenty (one of the youngest elected in the Society’s history), White was an active member throughout much of his life, culminating with his role as APS secretary between 1779 and 1783, followed with the vice presidency between 1783 and 1789. Born in Philadelphia, White grew up surrounded by future APS members. He studied theology under APS member Provost William Smith and attended class alongside APS members Thomas Coombe and Joseph Hutchins. When White traveled to London in 1772 for his ordination within the Anglican Church, he carried letters of introduction from APS member Joseph Galloway to Benjamin Franklin. In 1773, less than a year after returning to Philadelphia, White married Mary Harrison with whom he would have eight children, though only three survived past early childhood. Over the years, White’s reputation as a moderate, tolerant, and rational leader engendered respect and affection within the Philadelphia community. His diplomatic countenance in particular helped him weather the fraught position of representing the Church of England during the American Revolution. After helping to revive and reorganize the Episcopal Church following the American Revolution, he was elected Bishop of Pennsylvania in 1786 followed by his formal consecration by the Archbishop of Canterbury in London in 1787. After 1796, he became the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. With his robust health, White preached his last sermon a week before he died. Thousands in the city mourned as his funeral procession laid him to rest at Christ Church’s burying ground. (PI)