“Arthur Tappan: (1786-1865) U.S. merchant and philanthropist. Born in Northampton, Massachusetts, he operated various mercantile businesses, including a silk-importing firm in New York (1826-1837) with his brother Lewis Tappan (1788-1873); they also founded the first commercial credit-rating service (1841). He used his wealth to support missionary societies and the abolitionist crusade, helping found the American Anti-Slavery Society and serving as its first president (1833-40). After breaking with William Lloyd Garrison, he created the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society (1840). The brothers later supported the Underground Railroad.”
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
Mark's Text Terminal 