Thomas M. Pettit
American politician (1797–1853)
Thomas McKean Pettit (December 26, 1797 – May 30, 1853) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge who was briefly Director of the United States Mint in 1853 before his death in office.
Biography
Thomas M. Pettit was born in Philadelphia on December 26, 1797, the son of merchant Andrew Pettit (son of Charles Pettit) and his wife Elizabeth (McKean) Pettit (daughter of Thomas McKean). Pettit entered the College of the University of Pennsylvania in 1812. On October 2, 1813, he was one of thirteen founding members of the Philomathean Society. He received an A.B. in 1815 and an A.M. in 1818.
After graduating from college, Pettit became a lawyer. By 1820, he was City Solicitor of Philadelphia. From 1824 to 1828, he was Deputy Attorney General to the Supreme and Oyer and Terminer Courts of Philadelphia. He was elected as a member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1830; in 1831, he also served as a member of the Philadelphia City Council.
In 1832, Pettit became an Associate Judge of the District Court of Philadelphia.
The public source identifies “Thomas M. Pettit” as american politician (1797–1853). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Thomas, Pettit and American.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7792064. VIAF identifies the subject as 55769298. The Library of Congress control number is n90633994. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1797, 1853, 1812 and 1813.
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This entry incorporates text from “Thomas M. Pettit” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.