George Tucker (1775 - 1861)He was born in St. Georges, Bermuda, on August 20, 1775; immigrated to Virginia about 1790; he graduated from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va., in 1797; studied law with Judge St. George Tucker at William and Mary; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Richmond, Va. Later, he moved to Pittsylvania County, Va. where he was elected Commonwealth attorney of the county. He was member of the State house of delegates in 1815; moved to Lynchburg, Va., in 1818 and continued the practice of law;, He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1819 to 1825, representing Virginia. He served as chairman, Committee on Expenditures in the Department of War He was appointed by Thomas Jefferson as the first professor of moral philosophy at the University of Virginia; resigned as professor in 1845 and moved to Philadelphia. He is said to have died on April 10, 1861 from injuries sustained when a large bale of cotton fell on his head, while it was being loaded on a ship in Mobile Bay. He wrote "Life of Jefferson", "Political History of the United States", "Essays Moral and Philosophical", "The Valley of the Shenandoah", "A Voyage to the Moon" (satire), and various works on economics. The novel, "A Voyage to the Moon" is the first American work of science fiction. Works |