Financier merchant Revolutionary
John Nixon was born in 1733 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. He was the son of Richard and Sarah (Bowles) Nixon, and on April 17, 1735, at the age of two, was baptized in Christ Church. His father was a prominent shipping merchant and the proprietor of Nixon's Wharf on the Delaware River in Philadelphia.
John received but little education.
John early took a leading part in public affairs and in March 1756 was chosen lieutenant of the Dock Ward Company, a home-guard organization. In 1765 he was one of the signers of the non-importation agreement and from that time ranked as one of the leaders of the patriot cause in Philadelphia. The following year he was appointed a warden of the port, and in 1767 was one of the signers of the paper money issued by Pennsylvania. He became a member of the first Committee of Correspondence in June 1774 and a deputy to the General Conference of the Province of Pennsylvania, July 15; he was a delegate to the Convention for the Province in January 1775; and in April of that year helped organize and was chosen lieutenant-colonel of the 3rd Battalion of Associators, known as the "Silk Stockings. " On October 20, 1775, he was made a member of the provincial Committee of Safety, serving and acting as president pro tempore whenever the president and vice-president, Benjamin Franklin and Robert Morris, were absent. He was also chairman of the committee on accounts of this organization. In May 1776 he commanded the defenses of the Delaware at Fort Island and in July was placed in command of the Philadelphia city guard. During this year he was also a member of the Continental navy board. On July 8, 1776, appointed by the sheriff of Philadelphia for the task, he had the distinction of publicly reading and proclaiming the Declaration of Independence to an assemblage of citizens, for the first time after its adoption. Immediately after this his Battalion of Associators was called upon to aid in the defense of Amboy, New Jersey. Six weeks later they returned to Philadelphia, where they remained until December when, Nixon having succeeded to the command of the organization, they joined General Washington in the campaign against Trenton and took part in the battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777. He was a member of the committee to settle and adjust the accounts of the Committee and Council of Safety in 1778; and in 1779 was one of the auditors of public accounts, whose chief business was to settle and adjust the depreciation of the Continental currency.
He was a member of and officer in numerous social and business organizations, was one of the managers of the Pennsylvania Hospital, 1768-72, and a trustee of the College of Philadelphia, 1789-91.
Nixon was one of the organizers of the Bank of Pennsylvania for the purpose of supplying the army of the United States with provisions and supplies. He contributed the sum of five thousand pounds sterling and was appointed as one of the two directors. He became a director of the Bank of North America and was elected its president, which post he held until his death. Throughout his life Nixon maintained his interest in the business which his father had founded and at the time of his death was senior member of the firm of Nixon & Walker, shipping merchants.
Dignified and reserved in manner but noted for his kindness, Nixon was recognized as a man of honor, integrity, and decision.
In October 1765 Nixon married Elizabeth Davis, who bore him four daughters and a son.
