David Rittenhouse

David Rittenhouse (April 8, 1732 – June 26, 1796) was an American astronomer, inventor, clockmaker, mathematician, surveyor, scientific instrument craftsman, and public official. Rittenhouse was a member of the American Philosophical Society and the first director of the United States Mint. Biography David Rittenhouse was born on April 8, 1732, in Roxborough Township, Philadelphia County, near a small village within Philadelphia called Rittenhousetown. This village is located near Germantown, along the stream Paper Mill Run, which is a tiny tributary of the Wissahickon Creek. When his uncle, William Rittenhouse, died, David inherited his uncle's carpentry tools and instructional books. At a young age, David showed a high level of intelligence by creating a working scale model of his great-grandfather William Rittenhouse's paper mill. He built other scale models in his youth, like a working waterwheel. David never attended elementary school—he was self-taught from his family's books, and he showed great ability in science and mathematics. When David was 13 years of age, he had mastered Isaac Newton's laws of motion and gravity.