George Fox (27 November 1759–September 1828) was an American

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

Early life

George Fox was the son of Joseph and Elizabeth (née Mickle) Fox born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. He began attending the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in either 1773 or 1775, though allegedly he never graduated. He married Mary Pemberton, the only daughter of Charles and Ester (née House) Pemberton, in 1789 at the Arch Street Meeting House. Together, they had three children: Charles Pemberton Fox (1792-1866), Eliza Mary Pemberton Fox (1794-1873), and Esther Pemberton Fox (1797-1798). Mary died after twelve years of married in 1801. Fox then married Mary Dickinson, daughter of General

Philemon Dickinson Philemon Dickinson (April 5, 1739February 4, 1809) was an American lawyer and politician from Trenton, New Jersey. As a brigadier general of the New Jersey militia, he was one of the most effective militia officers of the American Revolutionary ...

in 1803. The two only had one child, Joseph Dickinson Fox (1804-1825)

False death

In 1780, Fox gained a large inheritance from his late father and sailed to Europe with John Foulke. He stayed there for the next three years. During his travels, he fell ill at a chateau outside

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and his host quickly removed him to Paris for treatment, where Fox allegedly died. Most absurdly, the Capuchin monks tasked with his burial supposedly resurrected him. Fox later renamed his family estate, Champlost, after the French Chateau where he initially fell ill.

Later life

Fox became a close friend to

William Temple Franklin William Temple Franklin Jr, known as Temple Franklin, (February 22, 1760, in London – May 25, 1823, in Paris) was an American diplomat and real estate speculator. He is best known for his involvement with the American diplomatic mission in Fra ...

, grandson and Paris-based secretary of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

. After the passing of both Franklins, many of the senior Franklin’s letters were inherited by Fox (most of which eventually came into the American Philosophical Society’s care via Fox’s son, Charles P. Fox). After returning to Philadelphia in 1783, Fox became a prominent man in political affairs: he worked as representative for Philadelphia to the

State Assembly State Assembly is the name given to various legislatures, especially lower houses or full legislatures in states in federal systems of government. Channel Islands States Assembly is the name of the legislature of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The Baili ...

(1800). He was elected as a member to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1784. He acted as a director of the Bank of the United States (starting in 1799 or 1812). He served as trustee of his alma mater from 1789 to 1791, whereupon he retired the position only to return from 1812 until his “final” death in 1828.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, George 1759 births 1828 deaths Members of the American Philosophical Society Quakers from Pennsylvania