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The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, in partnership with the Independence Historical Trust, is delighted to host author Richard Vague as its 200th Anniversary signature talk for the theme Americans and Innovation: Science, Technology, and Enterprise. Mr. Vague, a businessperson, venture capitalist, and author, will share his research into the financial industry of early America. By 1776, a clash between two distinct political classes had emerged in Pennsylvania— the elite Anglican and Quaker merchant traders versus the largely Scots-Irish Presbyterian farmers, artisans, and mechanics—which set an enduring tone for America’s politics. This rancorous division played out in the life of Thomas Willing, a leading merchant trader, and America’s first banker.
Richard Vague is the author of An Illustrated Business History of the United States and A Brief History of Doom, a chronicle of major world financial crises. He is Chair of the board of the Public School Employees' Retirement System, the largest public pension fund in Pennsylvania, and previously served as Secretary of Banking and Securities for Pennsylvania. He was the co-founder and CEO of an electricity and natural gas supply company and co-founder and CEO of two consumer credit card banks. Richard currently serves on the University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees and the Penn Medicine Board of Trustees, and on a number of business boards.
