Who was John Dickinson?

A member of the Continental Congress and the President of
both Delaware and Pennsylvania, John Dickinson (1732-1808)
was one of the most important political leaders of the American Revolution. A native of
Maryland, Dickinson was one of the wealthiest men in America; his father owned more than
12,000 acres in Delaware and Maryland. A member of the First and Second Continental
Congress, Dickinson opposed colonial independence, and he refused to sign the
Declaration. He served as a brigadier general of Pennsylvania militia for a short time
before returning to politics. He became the President of Delaware (1781-1782) before
being elected President of Pennsylvania (1782-1785), being reelected twice by the
state's Supreme Executive Council. He later returned to Delaware politics, and upon his
death, Thomas Jefferson stated:

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"A more estimable man, or truer patriot, could
not have left us."

Dickinson
College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, is named after him.