William Barton

author

William Barton

1754–1817

A lawyer and scholar from Pennsylvania, he is best remembered for helping shape the Great Seal of the United States and for bringing a strong antiquarian curiosity to early American writing. His books range from biography and political thought to statistics and history, showing a restless, wide-ranging mind.

1 Audiobook

Memoirs of the life of David Rittenhouse, LLD. F.R.S., late president of the American Philosophical Society, &c. : interspersed with various notices of many distinguished men : with an appendix, containing sundry philosophical and other papers, most of which have not hitherto been published

Memoirs of the life of David Rittenhouse, LLD. F.R.S., late president of the American Philosophical Society, &c. : interspersed with various notices of many distinguished men : with an appendix, containing sundry philosophical and other papers, most of which have not hitherto been published

by William Barton

About the author

Born in Philadelphia on April 11, 1754, William Barton was an American lawyer, scholar, and author with a deep interest in heraldry, history, and public affairs. He studied law and literature in Europe in the later 1770s, returned to Pennsylvania, and built a career at the bar while also publishing on a striking variety of subjects.

Barton is most often remembered for his role in the design of the Great Seal of the United States. His knowledge of heraldry made him a valuable contributor to the seal's development, and that work helped secure his place in early American history.

He also wrote books including Select American Biography and other works on politics, commerce, population, and national life. He died on October 21, 1817, leaving behind the profile of an energetic early republic intellectual whose interests reached far beyond a single profession.