Editing Francis Hopkinson (section)

==Education and early career==
Born on October 2, 1737 ([[Gregorian calendar|Gregorian]]), September 21, 1737 ([[Julian calendar|Julian]]) in [[Philadelphia]], [[Province of Pennsylvania]].<ref name=FJC>{{FJC Bio|1093|nid=1382396|name=Francis Hopkinson<!--(1737–1791)-->}}</ref><ref name=CB>{{CongBio|H000783|inline=yes}}</ref> Hopkinson received an [[Bachelor of Arts|Artium Baccalaureus]] degree in 1757 from the College of Philadelphia (now the [[University of Pennsylvania]]) and an [[Master of Arts|Artium Magister]] degree in 1760 from the same institution.<ref name=FJC/> He was the first native American composer of a secular song in 1759.<ref name=CB/> He was secretary of a commission of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania which made a treaty between the province and certain Indian tribes in 1761.<ref name=CB/> He entered private practice in Philadelphia from 1761 to 1766. He was collector of customs in [[Salem, New Jersey|Salem]], [[Province of New Jersey]] in 1763.<ref name=FJC/>

Hopkinson spent from May 1766 to August 1767 in England in hopes of becoming commissioner of customs for North America.<ref name=Hastings>{{cite book|last1=Hastings|first1=George|title=The Life and Works of Francis Hopkinson|date=1926|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago}}</ref>{{rp|133}} Although unsuccessful, he spent time with the future Prime Minister [[Frederick North, Lord North|Lord North]], Hopkinson's cousin [[James Johnson (bishop of Worcester)|James Johnson]], and the painter [[Benjamin West]].<ref name=Hastings/> Upon his return to Philadelphia in 1768, he sold varieties of fabric and port wine.<ref>Hastings, pp. 157 and 158.</ref>

In 1768, Hopkinson was elected to the revived [[American Philosophical Society]] and served as its curator from 1776 to 1782.<ref>Bell, Whitfield J., and Charles Greifenstein, Jr. ''Patriot-Improvers: Biographical Sketches of Members of the American Philosophical Society.'' 3 vols. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1997, I: 27—28, 30, 335, 415, II: 9, 24–32, 26, 193, 195, 277, 308, 406, III: 58, 78, 79, 160, 190, 308, 464.</ref> He was collector of customs for [[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]], [[Delaware Colony]] from 1772 to 1773. He resumed private practice in Bordentown, New Jersey from 1773 to 1774. He was a member of the [[New Jersey Provincial Council]] from 1774 to 1776.<ref name="FJC" /> He was a member of the Executive Council of New Jersey in 1775.<ref name="CB" /> He was admitted to practice before the bar of the [[Supreme Court of New Jersey]] on May 8, 1775, and was elected an associate justice of that court in 1776 but declined the office.<ref name="CB" />