Фрэнсис Хопкинсон: Американың тәуелсіздік күресінің қайраткері және тудың авторы

American Founding Father and judge

Francis Hopkinson (October 2, 1737 – May 9, 1791) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, jurist, author, and composer. He designed Continental paper money and two early versions of flags, one for the United States and one for the United States Navy. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776 as a delegate from New Jersey.

A Pretty Story Written in the Year of Our Lord 1774. Printed by John Dunlap, 1774. Available via Google Books
"Dissertation IV," in Four Dissertations, on the Reciprocal Advantages of a Perpetual Union between Great Britain and Her American Colonies. Printed by William & Thomas Bradford, 1766. Available via the U. S. National Library of Medicine, Digital Collections

Collection of Plain Tunes with a Few from Anthems and Hymns. Printed by Benjamin Carr, 1763. Temple of Minerva. (The First American Opera) Printed by Benjamin Carr, 1781. Seven Songs for the Harpsichord or Forte Piano. Printed by T. Dobson, 1788. No. 3: "Beneath a weeping willow's shade"

In 1776. Hopkinson designed the Great Seal of New Jersey with assistance from Pierre Eugene du Simitiere in 1776. He was thus chosen as a consultant to design the Great Seal of the United States. Fourteen men worked on the Great Seal of the United States, including two other consultants – Simitiere (first Great Seal committee) and William Barton (third committee). The seal was finalized on June 20, 1782. In the current rendition of the Great Seal of the United States, the 13 stars (constellation) representing the 13 original states have five points. They are arranged in the shape of a larger star with six points. The constellation comprising 13 smaller stars symbolizes the national motto, "E pluribus unum." Originally, the design had individual stars with six points, but this was changed in 1841 when a new die was cast. This seal is now impressed upon the reverse of the United States one dollar bill. The reverse of the seal, designed by Barton, contains an unfinished pyramid below a radiant eye. The unfinished pyramid was an image used by Hopkinson when he designed the Continental $50 currency bill.

On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the first official national flag of the newly independent United States (later celebrated as Flag Day). The resolution creating the flag came from the Continental Marine Committee. Hopkinson became a member of the committee in 1776. At the time of the flag's adoption, he was the chairman of the Navy Board, which was under the Marine Committee. Today, that office has been transferred to the United States Secretary of the Navy. Hopkinson is recognized as a designer of the Flag of the United States, and the journals of the Continental Congress support this. On May 25, 1780, Hopkinson wrote a letter to the Continental Board of Admiralty mentioning several patriotic designs he had completed during the previous three years. One was his Board of Admiralty seal, which contained a shield of seven red and six white stripes on a blue field. Others included the Treasury Board seal, "7 devices for the Continental Currency," and "the Flag of the United States of America." Hopkinson noted that he had not asked for any compensation for the designs but was seeking a reward: "a Quarter Cask of the public Wine." The board sent that letter on to Congress. Hopkinson submitted another bill on June 24 for his "drawings and devices." In this second letter, Hopkinson did not mention designing the flag of the United States. Instead, the first item listed was "the great Naval Flag of the United States" along with the other contributions. This flag with its red outer stripes was designed to show up well on ships at sea. Ironically, the Navy flag was preferred as the national flag. For the various designs, Hopkinson asked for cash in the amount of £2,700. Auditor General James Milligan commissioned an evaluation of the request for payment. The report from the commissioner of the Chamber of Accounts said that the bill was reasonable and ought to be paid. Congress asked for an itemized bill for payment in cash. Hopkinson requested £9 for the naval flag. A committee investigated Hopkinson's charges that his payment was being delayed for arbitrary reasons. The Treasury Board turned down the request in an October 27, 1780, report to Congress. The Board cited several reasons for its action, including the fact that Hopkinson "was not the only person consulted on those exhibitions of Fancy [that were incidental to the Board (among them, the U. S. flag, the Navy flag, the Admiralty seal, and the Great Seal with a reverse)], and therefore cannot claim the sole merit of them and not entitled in this respect to the full sum charged." The reference to the work of others is most probably a reference to his work on the Great Seal. Therefore, he would not be eligible to be paid for the Great Seal. Hence, there was no evidence of collaboration with others on Hopkinson's flag design. There is no known sketch of a Hopkinson flag—either U. S. or naval—in existence today. However, he incorporated elements of the two flags he designed in his rough sketches of the Great Seal of the United States and his design for the Admiralty Board Seal. The impression of Hopkinson's Admiralty Board Seal has a chevron with 7 red stripes and 6 white stripes. The Great Seal reflects Hopkinson's design for a governmental flag, and the Admiralty Board Seal reflects Hopkinson's design for a naval flag. Both flags were intended to have 13 stripes. Because the original stars used in the Great Seal had six points, Hopkinson's U. S. flag might also have intended the use of 6 pointed stars. This is bolstered by his original sketch for the Great Seal that featured a U. S. flag with six pointed asterisks for stars.