Author: Stephen GIRARDPublisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 60
Book Description
The Will of the Late S. G. ... with a Short Biography, Etc
Author: Stephen GIRARDA Catalog of Books Belonging to the Lower Hall of the Central Department, in the Classes of History, Biography, and Travel
Author: Boston Public LibraryPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : Library catalogs
Languages : en
Pages : 318
Book Description
“A” Catalogue of Books
Author: Justin WinsorBibliotheca Americana
Author: Francis Perego HarperPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : America
Languages : en
Pages : 628
Book Description
Bibliotheca Americana
Author: Catalogue of Books belonging to the Saint Louis Mercantile Library Association, etc
Author: Mercantile Library Association (SAINT LOUIS, Missouri)Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 434
Book Description
A Catalogue of a Very Complete Collection of Books and Pamphlets Relating to the American Civil War 1861-5
Author: Francis Perego HarperPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : Slavery
Languages : en
Pages : 890
Book Description
The Girard College and Its Founder: Containing the Biography of Mr Girard, Etc
Author: Henry W. AREYPictures of Slavery and Anti-Slavery, etc
Author: John Bell ROBINSONStephen Girard
Author: James J. RacitiPublisher: Sunstone Press
ISBN: 1632930706
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 274
Book Description
Why is Stephen Girard, a figure from late Colonial America, important today? As a teenager, he left home in Bordeaux, France with meager funds and went to sea as a merchant marine, following his family’s tradition. In early summer, 1776, he landed in Philadelphia when a British blockade forced his ship into the city’s Delaware River port. With his extraordinary intelligence and with an ability to foresee market trends and grasp the mysteries of international trade, he remained in Philadelphia and became an American citizen. By the early eighteen hundreds he had become the richest man in America. Is this reason enough to pay closer attention to Girard? Why don’t American History textbooks mention him? As the first private banker in America, he should be counted among our Founding Fathers. He labored tirelessly and unselfishly during Philadelphia’s 1793 yellow fever epidemic, risking his life caring for the sick, sometimes performing the most repulsive tasks. Most wealthy Philadelphians had left the city. In 1811, Great Britain increased its harassment of American ships. Girard put his entire fortune into the hands of the US Treasury to wage war once again with a country that refused to accept America as a sovereign nation. He proved himself a courageous philanthropist and a great patriot. The War of 1812, an American success, forever freed the country from subservience to England. When Girard died in 1831, thousands of Philadelphians showed their love and respect for him. He left most of his fortune to the City of Philadelphia and to founding an institution for poor orphans—Girard College, opening its doors to students in 1848. President Truman visited the college for its centennial in 1948 to honor this remarkable man—a man who walked the streets with Washington, Jefferson and Adams and had flags made by Betsy Ross.