Joshua Humphreys

Joshua Humphreys (June 17, 1751 – January 12, 1838) was an American ship builder and naval architect.

[3] During the American Revolutionary War he was active as a builder and outfitter of privateering vessels and played a major part in planning the 32-gun frigate USS Randolph before the British Army occupation of Philadelphia halted that effort.

[4] In postwar Philadelphia, Humphreys gained a reputation as the city's best shipbuilder and quickly became a wealthy man.

He was appointed "Master Naval Constructor" on June 28, 1794, and began work on these ships, the beginnings of the U.S. Navy.

Reputedly, one of the inspirations for his frigate designs was the South Carolina, planned by an innovative French shipwright.

The building of the Frigate Philadelphia , Plate 29 of Birch's Views of Philadelphia (1800). The man standing in the foreground may be a portrait of Humphreys.
A painting depicting Constitution at sail. The bow of the ship points to the right of the frame
USS Constitution c. 1803–04