Benjamin Chew
A pre-Revolutionary lawyer whose unwavering commitment to legal procedure placed him at the tense center of America's birth, defending loyalists and patriots alike.
1722–1810 (age 88)·American lawyer and judge·Birthday: November 19
Biography
Benjamin Chew of Philadelphia was less a revolutionary than an institutionalist, a man who believed the law itself was the ultimate authority. Born into a wealthy Quaker family, he trained in London and built a formidable reputation for his sharp, concise legal mind. As Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, he presided over one of the era's most incendiary cases: the 1770 trial of the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre, where he insisted on a fair process. His allegiance to the crown made him a target during the Revolution, leading to a brief imprisonment. Yet, in the new republic, his expertise was too vital to ignore. George Washington, a personal friend, appointed him to federal roles, and Chew spent his later years helping to build the young nation's judiciary, a bridge between colonial order and American law.
#1 When Benjamin Was Born
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Benjamin's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1722Born
1727Started school
1735Became a teenager
1738Could drive
1740Could vote
1743Turned 21
1752Turned 30
1762Turned 40
1772Turned 50
1782Turned 60
1792Turned 70
1802Turned 80
1810Died at 88
Key Achievements
- Served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania both before the Revolution (under the Crown) and after its formation as a state.
- Presided over the controversial 1770 court proceedings against the British soldiers accused in the Boston Massacre.
- Maintained a prestigious legal practice in Philadelphia, representing prominent families and arguing landmark property cases.
- His post-Revolutionary work helped establish the fledgling American judiciary, serving as a federal arbitrator under President Washington.
Did You Know?
His grand Philadelphia mansion, Cliveden, was the site of a fierce battle during the Revolutionary War's Battle of Germantown in 1777.
He was a close personal friend of George Washington and served as an executor of Washington's will.
Despite being imprisoned by revolutionary authorities for his loyalist leanings, he was later fully reintegrated into Pennsylvania's legal establishment.
His extensive library was one of the largest and most valuable in colonial America.
“The law is a fixed star, not a weathervane for popular sentiment.”
