Henry M. Phillips Explained

Henry Myer Phillips
Birth Date:June 30, 1811
Birth Place:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Death Date:August 28, 1884
Death Place:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
State:Pennsylvania
District:4th
Termstart:March 4, 1857
Termend:March 3, 1859
Preceded:Jacob Broom
Party:Democratic
Succeeded:William Millward

Henry Myer Phillips (June 30, 1811 – August 28, 1884) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. He was Pennsylvania's second Jewish congressman.[1]

Life

Phillips was born in Philadelphia. He attended the Philadelphia schools and Franklin Institute. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1832 and commenced practice in Philadelphia. He served as clerk of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.

Phillips was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fifth Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1858. He was a delegate to the 1860 Democratic National Convention.

He resumed the practice of law in Philadelphia. He served as a trustee of Jefferson Medical College in 1862. He was appointed a member of the Board of Fairmount Park Commissioners in 1867 and elected its president in 1881. He was a member of the Board of City Trusts in 1869, vice president of the board 1870–1878, and president 1878–1882. He served as a director of the Academy of Music in 1870 and its president in 1872, resigning in 1884. He was elected as a member to the American Philosophical Society in 1871.[2]

Phillips was a member of the commission to supervise the erection of the municipal buildings in Philadelphia in 1870, resigning in 1871. He was a director of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in 1874.

Death

Phillips died in Philadelphia in 1884 and interment was in Mount Sinai Cemetery in Frankford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Henry M. Phillips Masonic Lodge #337 in Monongahela, PA is named in his honor.

See also

Sources

Notes and References

  1. https://books.google.com/books?id=ACTF56SnaykC&q=jewish+members+in+congress Stone, Kurt F. "The Jews of Capitol Hill: A Compendium of Jewish Congressional Members, (2011).
  2. Web site: APS Member History. 2021-04-28. search.amphilsoc.org.