Richard Rush

He served as Attorney General of Pennsylvania in 1811 and as Comptroller of the Treasury during the James Madison administration. Rush became one of Madison's closest advisers during the War of 1812 and Madison elevated him to United States Attorney General in 1814. Rush remained in that position after James Monroe took office. He served as the acting Secretary of State briefly in 1817 and negotiated the Rush–Bagot Treaty, which limited naval forces on the Great Lakes.


Rush served as the ambassador to Britain from 1818 to 1825. He negotiated the Treaty of 1818 which set the boundary between the U.S. and Canada and had discussions with George Canning that led to the announcement of the Monroe Doctrine. He served as minister to France from 1847 to 1849. He helped establish and served on the board of regents for the Smithsonian Institution.

Early life and education[edit]

Rush was born on August 29, 1780, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the second son, and third child, of Benjamin Rush and Julia (Stockton) Rush, daughter of Richard Stockton and Annis Boudinot Stockton.^[1] He entered the College of New Jersey (now known as Princeton University) at the age of 14, and graduated in 1797 as the youngest member of his class. He studied law in the practice of William Lewis and was admitted to the bar in 1800.^[2]


Rush married Catherine Eliza Murray on the fall of 1809.^[3] They were the parents of eleven children including the lawyer and writer Benjamin Rush and Union Army colonel Richard H. Rush.^[4]

He died in Philadelphia on July 30, 1859,^[7] and was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.^[17][18]


Five United States Coast Guard vessels were named in his honor:


The USCGC Rush (WMSM-918) Heritage-class cutter^[24] is under construction and scheduled for delivery in 2026.^[25]

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