Henry Melchior Muhlenberg (1711–1787) was the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America and progenitor of one of the most influential Pennsylvania German families in history (Fig. 1). This year marks the 300th anniversary of his birth. Three of Henry’s sons also achieved significant renown: Peter (1746–1807) as a general during the American Revolution, Frederick (1750–1801) as the first Speaker of the U.S. House, and Henry Jr. (1753–1815) as a botanist. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, speaking during the 1942 bicentennial of Henry Muhlenberg’s arrival in this country, said, “Clergymen, soldiers, scholars, and statesmen, the Muhlenbergs have represented the best in our national life since the earliest days of the Republic.”1
