born 1740, Lissa, Pol.
died Jan. 6, 1785, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.
American patriot and financier.
Forced to flee Poland for his revolutionary activities, he arrived in New York in 1772 and soon became a successful merchant and financier. A supporter of the patriot cause in the American Revolution, he was arrested and imprisoned by the British. In 1778 he escaped to Philadelphia, where he opened a brokerage office. He made loans in excess of $600,000 to help finance the new government, extended interest-free private loans to James Madison , Thomas Jefferson , James Monroe , and others, and obtained French loans to the American government.