This Day In Founding Fathers History – 17 May

Mandeville, LA – This Day In Founding Fathers History – 17 May

On this day in 1792, the New York Stock & Exchange Board was founded with the signing of the Buttonwood Agreement. Under a buttonwood tree at 68 Wall Street in New York, 24 stock brokers signed an agreement to deal only with each other. At the time, there were five securities traded in NYC. ₁

One notable birthday on this day in 1776, that of Amos Eaton. Eaton was born in New York to a farming family. He practice land surveying at the age of 16, making some of his own equipment. Eaton practiced law, but he was interested in the natural sciences. He was accused of forgery and imprisoned for five years. During his imprisonment, he devoted much time to studying the natural sciences. After his release, he was an itinerant lecturer, teaching at several colleges, delivering popular lectures, and writing extensively about botany, chemistry, zoology, and geology. Eaton and Stephen van Rensselaer founded the Rensselaer Institute in Troy, New York. Here Eaton implemented his methods of teaching. He promoted students to take field trips, collect materials and laboratory analyses and perform their results in the form of lectures to their peers, an unusual but highly successful teaching method at the time. ₂

Another birthday on this day in 1740 (or 1741 depending on the source), that of John Penn. Penn was born in Virginia and studied law. In his mid-30s, Penn moved to North Carolina where he served on the Provincial Congress and also the Continental Congress. Penn was one of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence and only one of 16 men to sign both the Declaration and the Articles of Confederation. He also served on the Board of War and later declined a judgeship due to his poor health. ₃

_{1 “History of the New York Stock Exchange,” Business Reference Services – Library of Congress Science, Technology & Business Division, www.loc.gov/rr/business/hottopic/stock_market.html
2 “Amos Eaton,” History of Rennselaer Co., New York, www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyrensse/bio50.htm; “Amos Eaton,” Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, peabody.yale.edu/collections/archives/biography/amos-eaton
3 “John Penn,” Signers of the Declaration of Independence, www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/penn.htm; “John Penn, North Carolina,” Biographical Sketches, Signers of the Declaration, National Park Service, www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/declaration/bio38.htm}

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