Photograph as originally submitted to this page in the Historical Marker Database www.HMdb.org. Click on photo to resize in browser. Scroll down to see metadata.

Photographer: Allen C. Browne
Taken: March 12, 2016
Caption: Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg
1750-1801
Additional Description: This 1790 portrait of Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg (1750-1801) by Joseph Wright hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

“Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania, a former Lutheran minister and a member of the most prominent German family in America, was elected the first Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. A jolly fellow famous for his oyster suppers, Muhlenberg had considerable experience as a presiding officer; he had served a stint as president of the Continental Congress and had presided over the state convention called to ratify the Constitution in 1787. With President George Washington coming from the South and Vice President John Adams hailing from New England, Muhlenburg's selection provided a nice geographic balance for the new government's start.

Muhlenberg is pictured in the act of signing House Bill 65, "An Act to regulate Trade and Inter­course with the Indian Tribes," which he did on July 20, 1790.” – National Portrait Gallery
Submitted: January 16, 2018, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland.
Database Locator Identification Number: p412635
File Size: 1.344 Megabytes

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