Quaker merchant Robert Strettell was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1693. He came with his wife and family to Philadelphia in 1736.
In his new home he became known as a liberal member of the Society of Friends, and a man of cultural and literary taste. He was a merchant by trade, but he served as a man of public trust. He was a member of the Common Council of the City of Philadelphia, a member of the Governor’s Council, and mayor of Philadelphia. He died in 1762.
Strettell was a trustee of the Academy and College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania) from 1749 to 1762.