Philip Livingston
Born: January 15, 1716
Died: June 12, 1778
Colony/State: New York
Occupation / Public Role: Merchant, legislator, delegate to the Continental Congress
Contribution to the Founding Era: Delegate to the Continental Congress, signer of the Declaration of Independence, member of the Stamp Act Congress, and an important New York merchant and public leader.
Philip Livingston was born in Albany, New York, into the prominent Livingston family. He graduated from Yale College in 1737 and went into business, eventually becoming a successful merchant in New York City. He also became active in civic and philanthropic institutions, helping build the public life of colonial New York as well as its commercial one.
Before independence, Livingston held several important colonial offices. He served on the New York City board of aldermen from 1754 to 1762, sat in the New York provincial house of representatives from 1763 to 1769, and served as speaker in 1768. He was also a member of the Stamp Act Congress in 1765 and the New York committee of correspondence, placing him among the colony’s leading opponents of British policy before the full break with Great Britain.
Livingston served in both the First Continental Congress and the Second Continental Congress. He signed the Declaration of Independence as one of New York’s four signers. The National Archives lists him as 60 years old in 1776 and identifies his occupation as merchant.
The war touched Livingston’s own property and family circumstances. The National Constitution Center notes that after he signed the Declaration, British forces took over his Brooklyn estate, a reminder that these signatures were not abstract gestures. For many signers, independence came with very direct personal cost.
After independence, Livingston continued in public service. He served as president of the New York Provincial Convention in 1775, sat in the New York state assembly in 1776, and served in the New York state senate in 1777, all while continuing his national service in Congress. He died in York, Pennsylvania, in 1778 while attending a session of the Continental Congress.
Philip Livingston is not as famous today as Adams, Jefferson, or Franklin, but he was one of New York’s most important Revolutionary-era public men: merchant, legislative leader, delegate, signer, and state politician. He was one of the quieter heavyweights, the sort of founder who helped keep the machinery running while flashier names grabbed more of the light.
Related Links
- Signers of the Declaration of Independence
- Declaration of Independence
- William Floyd
- Francis Lewis
- Lewis Morris