Biddle received a classical education and was admitted to the bar, practicing law in Pittsburgh. He went to England in 1827, and remained three years, publishing while there a critical Review of Captain Basil Hall's Travels in North America. He also published A Memoir of Sebastian Cabot, with a Review of the History of Maritime Discovery (London, 1831). He was twice elected to Congress, as a Whig, serving from September 4, 1837, until his resignation in 1840.
Richard Biddle was the brother of American financier Nicholas Biddle.