Samuel Whitaker Pennypacker was born April 9, 1843, in Phoenixville, Chester County, Pennsylvania. As a student during the Civil War, he served in Company F, 26th Pennsylvania Emergency Militia during the Gettysburg campaign, fighting in a brief skirmish north of Gettysburg on June 26, 1863. Pennypacker returned to studying law at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1866. The following year he became president of the Law Academy of Philadelphia. Pennypacker’s public service began in 1885 with his appointment to the Philadelphia Board of Education. He was then admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1887. Two years later he began serving a judgeship on the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia, becoming president judge in 1897. In 1900 he became president of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. In 1902 Pennypacker was elected the 23rd Governor of Pennsylvania, serving from January 20, 1903 to January 15, 1907. During his term, the Child Labor Act of 1905 was approved, which set a minimum age and work standards for young factory and mine workers. He also established the Pennsylvania State Police, the first statewide police force in America. After retiring from politics, Pennypacker opened a law office in Philadelphia. He died on September 2, 1916 at his home in Schwenksville, Montgomery County.