Dickinson, John, 1732-1808

John Dickinson (November 13, 1732 [O.S. November 2, 1732] – February 14, 1808) was a Founding Father of the United States. A solicitor and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, Delaware, he was known as the "Penman of the Revolution" for his twelve Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, published individually in 1767 and 1768.

Born at his family's tobacco plantation in Talbot County, Maryland, Dickinson was educated at home by his parents and by recent immigrants employed for that purpose. At 18, he began studying law under John Moland in Philadelphia, later spending three years studying at the Middle Temple in London. In 1757, Dickinson was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar beginning his career as barrister and solicitor. In protest to the Townshend Acts, Dickinson published Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania. First published in the Pennsylvania Chronicle, Dickinson's letters were re-printed by numerous other newspapers and became one of the most influential American political documents prior to the American Revolution.

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