Benjamin Wood Richards (November 12, 1797 – July 12, 1851) was an American lawyer and politician from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Biography

Richards was born in Batsto, New Jersey. He practiced law in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, for many years and was active in the city's political scene. He was the mayor of Philadelphia in 1829, replacing George M. Dallas, who resigned, and again from 1830 to 1832. After leaving office, Richards resumed the practice of law, in which he continued until his death in Philadelphia in 1851. He was interred at

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Benjamin Wood 1774 births 1845 deaths Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Mayors of Philadelphia