American Revolutionary banker. Salomon, a native of Poland, described himself as “Broker to the Office of Finance”; he purchased and sold on commission bank stock and bills of exchange of European governments. During the American Revolution, he provisioned the troops of General Washington, often at personal cost. Salomon lent money to many impoverished members of the Continental Congress, including James Madison. He played an important role in the crucial years of the Revolutionary War, negotiating war subsidies from France and Holland. Salomon was captured as a spy and imprisoned by the British in New York, but managed to escape to Philadelphia, where his wife and child joined him.