Jonathan Bayard Smith

Jonathan Bayard Smith (February 21, 1742 – June 16, 1812) was an American politician and merchant from Philadelphia who was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Smith served as a delegate for Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress in 1777 and 1778, where he signed the Articles of Confederation.

Early life Smith was born on February 21, 1742, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Mary Harrison and Samuel Smith. His father was a successful mercantile businessman in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, who had moved to Philadelphia. Smith graduated from Princeton in 1760 and joined his father in business. He was elected to the revived American Philosophical Society in 1768. His first marriage was to Susannah Bayard of Maryland. Together, they had one son, Samuel Harrison Smith, who founded the National Intelligencer newspaper. In 1867, his remains were reinterred to Mount Vernon Cemetery.