William Rawle, lawyer and philanthropist, was born in Philadelphia on 28 April 1759. In 1778 he and his loyalist family fled to British-occupied New York City, where Rawle studied law. He continued his education in England before returning to Philadelphia and gaining admission to the bar in 1783. That same year he married Sarah Coates Burge (1761–1824), with whom he would have twelve children. Rawle served as U.S. district attorney for Pennsylvania from 1791 to 1800.