Richard Hill (1652 in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

– September 4, 1729, 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. Since ...

) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

merchant seaman who emigrated to the

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

colony in 1673,Smith, 1854. moved to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

in 1703, and subsequently served four terms as the 8th and 13th

mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Jim Kenney. History The first mayor of Philadelphia, ...

Background

Richard Hill was born in England circa 1652 and emigrated to the Maryland colony in 1673. From there he roamed the sea until 1703, and was called Captain Richard Hill. Living in Philadelphia at the time of the second visit of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

, Pennsylvania's proprietor and founder, he made Penn's acquaintance and became his friend. Hill soon settled in Philadelphia as a merchant and was admitted to the Governor's Council of the colony in February 1704, retaining the position up to the time of his death. In 1707, he was unanimously elected

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members ...

of the city, and in 1709 was chosen mayor, to which office he was three times re-elected. He was elected to the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly in 1710 and served in this body continuously until 1721, also serving three times as speaker. In 1720, as one of the six oldest councilors, he was appointed a master in the

court of chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equ ...

, just organized, and was also for several years a judge of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

of the province. In the quarrels that arose between the assembly and Penn, Hill sided with Penn, and he is recognized as the leader that did most to preserve

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

and proprietary ascendancy. William Penn made him a trustee under his will.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Richard Mayors of Philadelphia 1600s births 1729 deaths Justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Members of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly People of colonial Pennsylvania English emigrants Colonial American merchants