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{{short description|American politician (1735–1778)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
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| profession = [[Merchant]]
| signature = Signature of Thomas Wharton Jr. (1735–1778).png
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'''Thomas Wharton Jr.''' (1735{{spnd}}May 22, 1778) was a Pennsylvania merchant and politician of the [[American Revolution|Revolutionary]] era. He served as the first [[Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania#Presidents of Council|president of Pennsylvania]] (an office akin to [[List of governors of Pennsylvania|governor]]) following the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] from [[Great Britain]].
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==Early life and family==
Wharton was born in [[Chester County, Pennsylvania|Chester County]] in the [[Province of Pennsylvania]]<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_pennsylvania/col2-content/main-content-list/title_wharton_thomas.html|title=Pennsylvania Governor Thomas Wharton Jr.
|publisher= National Governors Association|accessdate= September 6, 2012}}</ref> in 1735. He was born into one of [[Philadelphia]]'s most prominent early [[Religious Society of Friends|Quaker]] families. He was known as "Junior" to distinguish him from a cousin of the same name.<ref name="ANB">Marc Egnal. "Wharton, Thomas, Jr."; ''[[American National Biography Online]]'', February 2000. Accessed September 12, 2009.</ref> His father, John Wharton, served as [[coroner]] of Chester County. His paternal grandfather, Thomas Wharton, a native of [[Westmorland]], [[England]], came to Pennsylvania around 1683
In 1762, Wharton married Susannah Lloyd, the daughter of Thomas Lloyd and great-granddaughter of [[Thomas Lloyd (lieutenant governor)|Thomas Lloyd]], an early governor of Pennsylvania and a colleague of [[William Penn]].<ref name=patriots>Chapter on Thomas Wharton in ''Patriot Improvers: Biographical Sketches of Members of the American Philosophical Society'' by Whitfield J. Bell 1997, DIANE {{ISBN|0-87169-226-0}}</ref> They were married by a pastor in [[Christ Church (Philadelphia)|Christ Church]], an Anglican church, and were therefore disowned by the Quakers of the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting. Wharton was thereafter associated with the [[Anglican Church]], but never formally converted.<ref name="ANB" /> The couple had five children before Susannah's death ten years later. Wharton then married Elizabeth Fishbourne and had three children with her. Wharton owned a country home called "Twickenham" near Abington Meeting in [[Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Montgomery County]].
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==President of Pennsylvania==
[[File:Coat of Arms of Thomas Wharton.svg|150px|thumb|Coat of Arms of Thomas Wharton]]
On September 28, 1776, Pennsylvania adopted a new [[Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776|state constitution]]. This document created an [[Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania|Executive Council]] of twelve men. Although wealthy, upper class Pennsylvanians like [[John Dickinson]] and [[Robert Morris (financier)|Robert Morris]] opposed this radically democratic constitution, Wharton supported it.<ref name="ANB" /> On a joint ballot of the Council and the General Assembly Wharton was elected the first President of the Council.
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[[Category:Colonial American merchants]]
[[Category:Governors of Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:People
[[Category:People of Pennsylvania in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:People disowned by the Quakers]]
[[Category:Politicians from Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Wharton family]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:Burials in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Patriots in the American Revolution]]
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