Jesuit missionary, born near Formby, England, 1738; died 1808. Entering the Society of Jesus, 1757, he was appointed pastor of Philadelphia, 1772; later in Bohemia and Newtown, Mayland; opened the first parish school and edited the first Catholic catechism in America. One of the signers of the "Form of Government," 1784, petition for appointment of a bishop in the United States, 1788; attended the synod of 1791 as vicar-general of the southern diocese. President of Georgetown College, 1793-1796,1806-1808, he was named superior of the Jesuits in America, 1806.