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Thomas McKean ( March 19, 1734– June 24, 1817) was the second President of the United States in Congress assembled, from July 10, 1781, until November 4, 1781. During his term in office, the British surrendered after the Battle of Yorktown.

McKean was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He became a Presbyterian minister and read law after moving to New Castle, Delaware. From the age of eighteen he served in many official positions: deputy general, clerk of the provincial assembly, member of the assembly, judge of the court of common pleas, collector of customs for New Castle. At the age of twenty, he was admitted to the bar in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

McKean had opposed British rule since the 1765Events March 9 Judges in Paris find Jean Calas innocent, (after having been tortured and executed in 1762) of murdering his son, Marc-Antoine, who had committed suicide), mainly because Voltaire wrote a series of articles calling for the case to be re-ope Stamp ActThe Stamp Act 1765 was the fourth Stamp Act to be passed by the British Parliament and required all legal documents, permits, commercial contracts, newspapers, pamphlets, and playing cards in the American colonies to carry a tax stamp. The Act was enacted; as a Delaware representative in the Continental CongressThe Continental Congress was the federal legislature of the Thirteen Colonies and later of the United States from 1774 to 1789, a period that included the American Revolutionary War and the Articles of Confederation. There were two Continental Congresses., he urged Delaware to vote for independence. Soon after the vote, he left Congress to lead a battalion in the Continental ArmyThe Continental Army was the unified command structure of the thirteen colonies fighting Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. The Army was created by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 15, 1775. Most of the Continental Army w. He signed the Declaration of Independence at some later date; his name does not appear on the copy that was authenticated in January 1777Events The Cornish language died out 2nd edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica published January 3 American general George Washington defeats British general Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton. January 12 Mission Santa Clara de Asis is founded in. He was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 1799Events March 1 Federalist James Ross becomes President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate. March 7 Napoleon captures Jaffa in Palestine and his troops proceed to kill more than 2,000 Albanian captives. March 29 New York passes a law aimed at graduall and served three terms.

McKean died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

His grandson, William Wister McKean, was a hero in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.