Richard Bache

Richard Bache (* September 12 1737 in Settle, Yorkshire, † July 29, 1811 in Berks County, Pennsylvania) was the second Postmaster General of the United States, succeeding Benjamin Franklin in this office.

Born in England, Richard Bache moved in 1765 over to North America, where he first settled in New York City. Two years later he married Sarah Franklin, the only daughter of Benjamin Franklin. 1770 the couple moved to Philadelphia, where Bache worked for the company of his brother. He was also active in the independence movement and served as chairman of the Republican Society of Philadelphia.

After his father had in 1775 assumed the office of the Postmaster General, he took Bache at his side. Within the Postal Service that he held the office of Comptroller. When Franklin in 1776 turned to other tasks in the revolutionary movement, Bache moved on to the Postmaster General on November 11 this year. He held this post until in 1782. During the Revolutionary War, he was also a member of the Board of War the government.

Richard Bache and his wife Sarah had eight children, of whom gained two more widely known. Benjamin Franklin Bache introduced himself as a journalist with controversial articles on the side of Thomas Jefferson and against the Federalist Party of George Washington; He died in 1798 of yellow fever. Richard Bache Jr. became a politician and was a member of the state legislature of the Republic of Texas. His son, Alexander Dallas Bache was a respected physicist.