Livingston, U.S. History, Biographies

Related Category: U.S. History, Biographies

Philip Livingston, 1716–78, b. Albany, N.Y., was the second of the three sons of Robert R. Livingston's (1654–1728) son Philip. He was a successful merchant and a leader in the protest against the Stamp Act and other British trade restrictions. Although he looked with disfavor upon radicalism and was not originally an advocate of independence, he nevertheless signed the Declaration of Independence and after that time remained an active member of the Continental Congress. He was generous with his large fortune and was a supporter of many philanthropies. He was one of the original promoters of King's College (now Columbia Univ.), established a professorship of divinity at Yale, and helped to found the New York Society Library.