​BECK, Paul, philanthropist, b. in Philadelphia about 1760; d. there, 22 Dec., 1844. His father emigrated from Nuremberg in 1752. The son acquired a large fortune in the wine-trade, and for several years filled the office of port warden of Philadelphia. He was one of the founders of the Philadelphia academy of fine arts, a benefactor of the deaf and dumb institution of that city, president of the American Sunday-school Union, and a contributor to various other charitable and religious undertakings.