Filippo Mazzei

Filippo Mazzei (; December 25, 1730 – March 19, 1816), also known in English as Philip Mazzei and sometimes erroneously cited as Philip Mazzie, was an Italian physician, philosopher, diplomat, winemaker, merchant, promoter of liberty and author. A close friend of Thomas Jefferson, he was a strong supporter of the American Revolution and the American colonies' war for independence from Britain.

In 1774 he published a pamphlet containing the phrase, which Jefferson incorporated essentially intact into the United States Declaration of Independence: "All men are by nature equally free and independent". The contribution of Filippo Mazzei to the declaration was acknowledged by John F. Kennedy in his 1958 book ''A Nation of Immigrants''. Provided by Wikipedia