Henry Tazewell

Henry Tazewell (November 27, 1753 – January 24, 1799) was an American politician who was instrumental in the early government of the U.S. state of Virginia, and a United States Senator from Virginia.

Born in Brunswick County, Virginia, Tazewell was the son of Littleton and Mary Gray Tazewell. He attended the rural schools, then graduated from the College of William and Mary at Williamsburg, Virginia in 1770. He married Dorothea Elizabeth Waller on January 13, 1774. The couple were the parents of Littleton Waller Tazewell, who became senator and governor of Virginia; and a daughter, Sophia Ann.

Tazewell studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1773, and began his practice. During the Revolutionary War, he raised and was commissioned captain of a troop of cavalry.

A member of the House of Burgesses in 1775, Tazewell was also delegate to the Fourth Virginia Convention of 1775 and the Fifth Virginia Convention of 1776 that wrote the state constitution. From 1778 to 1785 he was member of General Assembly.

In 1785, Tazewell became judge of the Virginia General Court, and was elevated to Chief Justice of that court, serving in that capacity from 1789 to 1793. He also served as a judge on the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals (later renamed the Virginia Supreme Court) in 1793.

In 1794, Tazewell was elected into the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John Taylor. Reelected in 1798, he served from December 29, 1794, until his death. He served as the President pro tempore of the United States Senate in 1795.

Tazewell died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 24, 1799 and is interred at Christ Church Burial Ground. Tazewell County, Virginia, Tazewell, Virginia, Tazewell, Tennessee, and possibly Tazewell County, Illinois are named after him.