The Resume

(October 2, 1737-May 9, 1791)
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lawyer, jurist, author, musician and composer
Delegate to the Second Continental Congress from New Jersey (1776)
Signed the Declaration of Independence
Designed the US flag (1777)
Judge for the Admirality Court of Pennsylvania (1779-89)
US District Court Judge (1789-91)
Wrote the satires 'A Pretty Story' (1774), 'The Political Catechism' (1777) and 'A New Roof' (1787)
Wrote the songs 'My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free' (1759) and 'The Battle of the Kegs' (1778) and the opera 'Temple of Minerva' (1781)

Why he might be annoying:

Before the American Revolution, he worked as a tax collector for the British.
During the Continental Congress, he relieved his boredom by drawing caricatures of his fellow delegates.
The flag he designed featured six-pointed stars.
His request to be paid for creating the flag was rejected by the Treasury on the grounds that he was not the only person consulted on the design and that as a civil servant he had already been adequately paid.

Why he might not be annoying:

He played the harpsichord and organ.
His 'Temple of Minerva' was the first American opera and was a favorite of Washington and Jefferson.
One author claimed his anti-British satire 'The Battle of the Kegs' was 'perhaps worth as much as the winning of a considerable battle.'
Since he initially asked for just 'a quarter cask of the public wine' as payment for designing the flag, each year on his birthday workers at Christ Church in Philadelphia take a bottle of wine to his gravesite and share it in his memory.

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Attorney
• Breeders [Have 5 or More Kids] (Ranked: 9)
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 48]
• I am from Philadelphia
• I Attended University of Pennsylvania
• I Have Epilepsy
• I Outlived My Child
• Look at Me, My Picture Is Art
• Look at My Speech or Thought Balloon
• Opera Singers and Composers
• Profiles 34501-34750 (Ranked: 34619)
• Signers of the Declaration of Independence

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 14 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 12 Votes: 58.33% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 44 Votes: 56.82% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 23 Votes: 73.91% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 679 Votes: 53.02% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 123 Votes: 54.47% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 18 Votes: 66.67% Annoying