William Phillips, Jr.

Who was William Phillips, Jr.?

William Phillips, Jr. was a Boston merchant, politician and philanthropist.

Phillips was the son of William Phillips, Sr., a merchant whom he joined in business and became wealthy. He was elected the tenth Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, serving from 1812 to 1823. He drafted the letter inviting New England Governors to send delegates to the Hartford Convention of 1815. On his death, he bequeathed large sums to Phillips Andover Academy and to Andover Theological Seminary.

Phillips married Miriam Mason on September 13, 1774 in Norwich, Massachusetts. They had seven children. Phillips was the grandfather of Samuel H. Walley who was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.

He was also the first president of the Massachusetts General Hospital and has a building there named after him.