Joseph Hopkinson

Born on November 12, 1770, in Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania, British America,[1] Hopkinson received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1786 from the University of Pennsylvania, an Artium Magister degree in 1789 from the same institution and read law in 1791,[1] with William Rawle and James Wilson.[2] He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in Philadelphia and Easton, Pennsylvania from 1791 to 1814.[1]

Hopkinson was elected as a Federalist from Pennsylvania's 1st congressional district to the United States House of Representatives of the 14th United States Congress.[3] He was reelected to the succeeding Congress and served from March 4, 1815, to March 3, 1819.[3] He was not a candidate for reelection in 1818.[3]

Following his departure from Congress, Hopkinson resumed private practice in Philadelphia from 1819 to 1820, in Bordentown, New Jersey from 1820 to 1823, and in Philadelphia from 1823 to 1828.[1] He was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly from 1821 to 1822.[1]

Hopkinson received a recess appointment from President John Quincy Adams on October 23, 1828, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania vacated by Judge Richard Peters.[1] He was nominated to the same position by President Adams on December 11, 1828.[1] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 23, 1829, and received his commission the same day.[1] His service terminated on January 15, 1842, due to his death in Philadelphia.[1] He was interred in the old Borden-Hopkinson Burial Ground (now Christ Church Episcopal Cemetery) in Bordentown.[3]

Hopkinson was Chairman of the Pennsylvania constitutional convention in 1837.[3] He was secretary of the board of trustees of the University of Pennsylvania in 1790 and 1791, and a trustee from 1806 to 1819, and from 1822 to 1842.[3] His civic and cultural activities included service as President of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and as Vice-President of the American Philosophical Society.[2]

Hopkinson wrote the anthem Hail, Columbia in 1798.[3]

Hopkinson was the son of Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a member of the Continental Congress and the first United States District Judge for Pennsylvania.[3] In 1794, he married the daughter of Governor of Pennsylvania Thomas Mifflin.[2]

• Konkle, Burton Alva. Joseph Hopkinson, 1770-1842, Jurist-Scholar-Inspirer of the Arts: Author of Hail Columbia. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1931.

• United States Congress. "Joseph Hopkinson (id: H000784)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Joseph Hopkinson at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• The Political Graveyard
• Biography and portrait at the University of Pennsylvania

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• Joseph Hopkinson at Find a Grave
• The Hopkinson Family Papers, including correspondence, documents and printed materials relating to Joseph Hopkinson and other family members, are available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.