Home > William Bradford (1722-1791)

William was the publisher of The Pennsylvania Journal, whose first number appeared on December 2, 1742. In later years each issue had the still-recognized image of the snake chopped into segments with the motto Unite or Die. Variations of this logo were also used by Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin, and others. In 1754 he also opened the London Coffeehouse in Philadelphia and began to write marine insurance. As a publisher and writer he attacked many policies of the British government, and was especially vocal in his opposition to the 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 in 1765.

The first 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. met in Philadelphia in 1774Events January 21 Mustafa III, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire dies and is succeeded by his brother Abd-ul-Hamid I. May 10 Louis XVI becomes King of France. June 2 Intolerable Acts: The Quartering Act, requiring American colonists to let British soldiers int, and Bradford was named as the official printer for the Congress. In this role he printed the formal resolutions, broadsides, and documents such as the Declaration of Rights, that the Congress issued. But when the war actually started, he left his business in his son's hands and joined the PennsylvaniaPennsylvania (the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is one of four states of the United States of America that is called a commonwealth. It has given its name to the Pennsylvanian time period in geology. Pennsylvania is called the Keystone State. Although Swed militia.

He was made a Major, and later promoted to Colonel. He saw action at TrentonGeorge Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze. The Battle of Trenton took place during the American Revolutionary War on December 26, 1776. General George Washington led the main Continental Army across the Delaware to surprise and vi and Princeton, and at Fort Mifflin. The wound he received at the battle of Princeton continued to trouble him. When British forces withdrew from Philadelphia he resigned from the army and returned to the city.

His son Thomas had continued The Pennsylvania Journal during his absence. Now they became partners, and over the years expanded their publishing house. After William's death on September 25, 1791 Thomas continued their enterprise. A second son, William (sometimes called William, Jr.), followed him into the army, became a lawyer and was later Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and U. S. Attorney General.