Haym Salomon

Haym Salomon (also Solomon; April 7, 1740 – January 6, 1785) was a Polish-born American merchant best known for his actions during the American Revolution, where he was one of the prime financiers to the Continental Congress.

Born in Leszno, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Salomon studied finance in Western Europe before emigrating to New York City in 1775. After the American Revolutionary War broke out in the same year, Salomon supported the Patriots by providing financial services while working alongside financier Robert Morris, the Superintendent of Finance of the United States, and risked his life as a member of the Sons of Liberty, leading to multiple arrests by the British for espionage.

He helped convert French loans into hard currency by selling bills of exchange on Morris' behalf, and also brokered large donations to the Patriot cause. This included a critical $20,000 loan in 1781 that enabled George Washington’s decisive Yorktown campaign, a turning point for American independence. From 1781 to 1784, Salomon helped provide over $650,000 ($14.8 million in 2024). He was also an advocate for religious liberty by co-founding Philadelphia’s Mikveh Israel synagogue and challenging discriminatory laws. Despite donating his entire fortune to the Continental Army and several Founding Fathers of the United States, Salomon died penniless in Philadelphia in 1785 due to the failure of government officials and private lenders to repay the debt they owed to him.

Haym Salomon was born on April 7, 1740 in Leszno, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to a Sephardic Jewish family descended from Spanish and Portuguese Jews who gradually migrated to Poland following the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492. Although most Jews in Central and Eastern Europe spoke Yiddish, it has been claimed that because Salomon left Poland with his family while he was still young, he could not read and write Yiddish; Sephardic Jews typically spoke Judaeo-Spanish (Ladino), a language based on Hebrew and Spanish, rather than Yiddish. In his youth, he studied Hebrew.

During his adult travels in Western Europe, Salomon acquired a knowledge of finance and fluency in some of the languages of the day. He returned to Poland in 1770 but left for England two years later in the wake of the First Partition of Poland in 1772. In 1775, he immigrated to New York City, where he established himself as a financial broker for American merchants engaged in overseas trade.

Sympathizing with the Patriot cause, Salomon joined the New York branch of the Sons of Liberty. In September 1776, he was arrested by the British as a spy, but quickly pardoned. However, the British authorities detained him for 18 months on a boat as an interpreter for Hessian troops, since Salomon could speak German. Salomon used his new position to help prisoners of war from the Continental Army escape, encouraged Hessian troops to desert, and collaborated with Hercules Mulligan and Cato to carry out other acts of espionage. In 1778 Salomon was arrested again, convicted of espionage, and sentenced to death. He eventually escaped and made his way with his family to Philadelphia, where the Continental Congress was located.

Once resettled in Philadelphia, Salomon resumed his activities as a broker. He became the agent to the French consul as well as the paymaster for all French forces in North America. In 1781, he began working extensively with Robert Morris, the newly appointed Superintendent of Finance of the United States.

From the period from 1781 to 1784, records show Salomon's fundraising and personal lending helped provide over $650,000 ($14.8 million in 2024) in financing to General George Washington in his war effort. His most meaningful financial contribution, however, came immediately prior to the Siege of Yorktown.