John Nixon

Who was John Nixon?

John Nixon was a financier and official from Philadelphia who served as a militia officer in the American Revolutionary War.

He was born in Philadelphia, the son of a shipping merchant. Upon the passage of the Stamp Act in 1765, he signed the non-importation agreement against the Act, became active in opposing the encroachments of the English government upon American liberties, and was a member of the first committee of correspondence in Pennsylvania.

In April 1775, he became lieutenant-colonel of the third battalion of the Philadelphia Associators, a militia unit. He was also a member of the Committee of Safety. From May to July 1776, he was in command of the defenses of the Delaware River at Fort Island, after which he was put in charge of the defenses of Philadelphia.

On July 8, 1776, he made the first public proclamation of the Declaration of Independence from the steps of the Pennsylvania State House. The same year, Nixon was promoted colonel and later served under George Washington at the Battle of Princeton. In 1776, he became a member of the Navy Board, and two years later was with Washington again at Valley Forge.

In 1780, he became a director of the Bank of Pennsylvania.