Phillips, Henry M. (Henry Myer), 1811-1884

<p>Henry Myer Phillips (June 30, 1811 – August 28, 1884) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. He was Pennsylvania's first Jewish congressman.</p>

<p>Phillips was born in Philadelphia. He attended the Philadelphia schools and Franklin Institute. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1832 and commenced practice in Philadelphia. He served as clerk of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.</p>

<p>Phillips was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fifth Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1858. He was a delegate to the 1860 Democratic National Convention.</p>

PHILLIPS, Henry Myer, a Representative from Pennsylvania; born in Philadelphia, Pa., June 30, 1811; attended the Philadelphia schools and Franklin Institute; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1832 and commenced practice in Philadelphia; clerk of the court of common pleas of Philadelphia; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1857-March 3, 1859); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1858 to the Thirty-sixth Congress; resumed the practice of law in Philadelphia; trustee of Jefferson Medical College in 1862; appointed a member of the Board of Fairmount Park Commissioners in 1867 and elected its president in 1881; member of the Board of City Trusts in 1869, vice president of the board 1870-1878, and president 1878-1882; director of the Academy of Music in 1870 and its president in 1872, resigning in 1884; member of the commission to supervise the erection of the municipal buildings in Philadelphia in 1870, resigning in 1871; director of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co. in 1874; died in Philadelphia, August 28, 1884; interment in Mount Sinai Cemetery, Frankford (Philadelphia), Pa.