Richard Skinner (politician)

Richard Skinner (May 30, 1778 – May 23, 1833) was an American politician, attorney, and jurist from the US state of Vermont, and the ninth Governor of Vermont.

Skinner was born in Litchfield, Connecticut. He completed preparatory studies and graduated from Litchfield Law School, and was admitted to the bar in 1800, and began a practice in Manchester, Vermont. He married Fanny Pierpont and they had four children, including prominent Illinois politician Mark Skinner.

In 1801, Skinner became the state attorney for Bennington County, a position he held until 1813. From 1805 to 1813, Skinner was a probate judge for the Manchester district.

In the 1812 elections, Skinner was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives for Vermont's new created 5th District. He served a single two-year term (the 13th Congress) from March 4, 1813, to March 3, 1815. Skinner lost in the 1814 election to the 14th Congress and returned to Vermont to resume the practice of law.

Skinner became a Judge on the Vermont Supreme Court in 1815 and 1816, but declined the office of Chief Justice in 1817. He was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives in 1815 and 1818, serving as Speaker in the latter year.

In 1819, Skinner briefly returned to his former position of Bennington County state attorney. The same year, he was elected Governor of Vermont, and served from 1820 until 1823, when he became the Chief Justice on the Vermont Supreme Court. Skinner held this position until 1828, when he retired from public life.

Skinner was interested in public education and served as president of the northeastern branch of the American Educational Society, and was also a trustee of Middlebury College.

Skinner died in Manchester and is interred at Dellwood Cemetery, Manchester, Bennington County, Vermont.