Haym Salomon (1740-1785)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Financier of the Revolution. Came to America ca. 1772. Imprisoned by British, 1776 and 1778. Lived in Philadelphia, 1778-85; active in its Jewish community. A broker, he lent money heavily to support the war. Never repaid, he himself died in debt.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Haym Salomon arrived in America around 1772, an immigrant who threw himself into the Revolutionary cause and was twice imprisoned by the British. From Philadelphia he worked as a broker and money-lender, extending enormous credit to help keep the struggling war effort and the young government solvent. Active in the city's Jewish community, he was never repaid and died in debt.
Why it matters
Salomon's story shows how immigrants and religious minorities helped bankroll American independence, quietly financing a revolution whose success depended as much on credit as on gunpowder.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Museum of Illusions Philadelphianearby · 401 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Franklin Print Shopnearby · 320 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- United States Postal Service Museumnearby · 316 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Paradigm Gallery + Studionearby · 12 North 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish Historynearby · 101 South Independence Mall East, Philadelphia, PA
- Fragments of Franklin Court0.1 mi away
Attractions
- Benjamin Franklin Grave0.1 mi away
- U.S. Mint at Philadelphia Tour0.1 mi away
- President's House0.2 mi away
- Second Bank of the United States0.2 mi away · 420 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Liberty Bell0.2 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Carpenters' Hall0.2 mi away · 320 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Food & drink
- Bubble Tea Roomnearby · 319 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- 3J's Cafenearby · 317 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Forknearby · 306 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- PrimoHoagiesnearby · 304 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Independence Mall Cafe0.1 mi away · 50 North Independence Mall East, Philadelphia
- Menagerie Coffee0.1 mi away · 18 South 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places to stay
- Wyndham Philadelphia Historic Districtnearby · 400 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Renaissance Philadelphia Downtown Hotel0.2 mi away · 401 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Best Western Plus Independence Park Hotel0.2 mi away · 237 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Apple Hostels Philadelphia0.2 mi away · 32 South Bank Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Apple Hostels0.2 mi away · 33 Bank Street, Philadelphia, PA
- The Philadelphia House0.2 mi away · 17 North 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA
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Related people
- · Haym Salomon
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
David Salisbury Franks (c.1740-1793)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2004
David Salisbury Franks was among the small number of Jewish officers to serve the American cause during the Revolution, rising to major and serving as aide-de-camp to General Benedict Arnold. When Arnold's treason was exposed, suspicion inevitably fell on the men closest to him, and Franks endured investigation before being formally cleared and going on to diplomatic service. He died in Philadelphia's 1793 yellow fever epidemic and, having no coreligionists to bury him, was laid to rest at Christ Church by a Christian neighbor.
Mikveh Israel Cemetery
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1957
Founded in 1740, this is one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in the United States and the resting place of some of colonial and Revolutionary America's most notable Jewish families. Among those buried here are Nathan Levy, whose ship carried the Liberty Bell across the Atlantic; Haym Salomon, the broker whose financing helped sustain the American Revolution; and the prominent Gratz and Levy families. Their graves testify to a Jewish community woven into Philadelphia life from its earliest colonial days.
Mathew Carey (1760-1839)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2014
Mathew Carey emigrated from Ireland to Philadelphia in 1784 and built one of the young nation's most influential publishing houses, operating his print shop on this site for two decades. A prolific writer and political economist, he championed American manufacturing, protective tariffs, and a strong national bank. In 1793 he helped found the Hibernian Society, which aided newly arrived Irish immigrants.
Arch Street Meeting House
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1954
This brick meetinghouse rose in 1804 on ground William Penn had set aside as a Quaker burial place in 1701, at the very heart of the colony he founded as a haven for the Religious Society of Friends. For more than two centuries it has served without interruption as a place of worship and a gathering point for Philadelphia's Quaker community.