John Bull (June 1, 1731 – August 9, 1824) was an American politician, military officer, statesman, and planter.

By 1758, he participated in the French and Indian War as a captain where he met George Washington and the two became friends.

Bull became good friends with his brother American astronomer David Rittenhouse.

During the revolution, George Washington visited Bull's Masonic Lodge while he was in Valley Forge.

Bull participated in the taking of Fort Duquesne as a captain along with George Washington and other troops under the direction of General Forbes around May 12, 1758.

By 1771, he was in possession of 534 acres in Norristown, PA. At the onset of the American Revolution, he actively participated and eventually reached the rank of General.

He was also a member of the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention in the summer of 1776 which had a profound impact on American public opinion and cleared the way for the issuing of the Declaration of Independence.

He was also active in local Pennsylvania politics as an assemblyman and also briefly served on the Board of War.

[7] In October 1777, John's house store, and barns were burned down by British troops and his wife's life was threatened by General Howe and his soldiers.

The United States government hid a sizeable portion of weapons and ammunition on John's estate everything was lost.

When the British moved South and evacuated Philadelphia on June 18, 1778, the government ordered John to continue his service at Fort Billingsport for the rest of the war.

He continued constructing defenses his knowledge of Pennsylvania was crucial to the revolution in the years 1778–1779, he helped raise a defense obstacle in the Delaware River named a Cheval de frize to stop British ships.

Regrettably, his wife Mary Phillips Bull died at Northumberland, on February 23, 1811, at eighty years of age.