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1732 Apr 8: Born in Paper Mill Run near
Germantown, PA
to Mathias Rittenhouse and Elizabeth Williams. (1)
"William Rittenhouse, the great-grandfather of David Rittenhouse, was
the first Mennonite preacher in Pennsylvania, and settled in
Germantown. He built, on a tributary of the Wissahickon, the first
paper mill in this country, and supplied William Bradford, the first
printer in Philadelphia, with a superior quality of linen and
parchment paper." (3 p135)
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"[David] became an astronomer, mathematician, instrument maker and one of the leading American scientists of the eighteenth century, second only to Benjamin Franklin." (2)
"Next to Franklin, Rittenhouse was the leading figure in
eighteenth-century American science. His achievements reflect an
unusual combination of theory and practice; while his major
contributions were primarily observational and experimental, his name
has become synonymous with precision instruments." (1)
1796 Jun 26: Died in Philadelphia, PA. (1)
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