John Bouvier [1787-1851] emigrated with his family from France to the United States during the French Revolution, settling in Philadelphia in 1802. In 1814 he started a newspaper, the American Telegraph, in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, which he published until 1820. Admitted to the practice in 1818, Bouvier became a leading member of the Philadelphia Bar. He was appointed Recorder of Philadelphia in 1836 and associate justice of the Court of Criminal Sessions in 1838. In addition to this dictionary, he was the author of Institutes of American Law (1851) and edited an edition of Matthew Bacon's Abridgment of the Law (1842-1846).