Haym Salomon (April 7, 1740-January 6, 1785) was born in Leszno, Poland, to a Sephardic family whose ancestors had migrated to Poland following the expulsion of Jews from Spain. As an adult, Salomon traveled extensively in Europe, settling in England in 1772, and immigrating to New York City in 1775, where he served as a broker engaged in overseas trade.
British forces arrested him as a spy in September 1776, detaining him for 18 month. He was required to serve as an interpreter for Hessian soldiers, who were German speaking. He used his position to encourage the Hessians to desert and to help liberate American patriot soldiers from jail. He was arrested again and sentenced to death for espionage, but he was able to escape and make his way to Philadelphia with his family. There he resumed his activities as a broker.
He became an agent for the French consul and paymaster for the French forces in North America, who had joined the Americans in fighting the British. In 1781, he worked extensively with Robert Morris, superintendent for Finance in the Thirteen Colonies. The money he raised helped George Washington pay the troops in advance of, during, and after the Siege of Yorktown, the final battle of the Revolution.
He continued assisting the U.S. government with its finances after the war, while also being a mainstay of the Jewish community in Philadelphia. He was a major donor of funds for the construction of Congregation Mikveh Israel there and lobbied successfully for the removal of a religious test oath required under the state constitution to hold office in Pennsylvania. Failure of his debtors to repay him reduced Salomon to poverty and to his death at age 44 in 1785.
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SDJW condensation of a Wikipedia article