George Tucker

George Tucker (August 20, 1775 - April 10, 1861) was a United States attorney, author, educator and politician. His literary works include the first fiction of colonial life in Virginia and a second which is one of America's earliest science fictions. Tucker also published the first comprehensive biography of Thomas Jefferson, as well as a history of the United States. He immigrated from Bermuda, was educated at the College of William and Mary and admitted to the Virginia bar. He was elected in 1816 to the Virginia House of Delegates for one term, and served in the United States House of Representatives from 1819 to 1825. From Tucker's youth until early middle age, his lofty social lifestyle was often profligate, and briefly became scandalous. Nevertheless, upon completion of his Congressional term, he accepted an appointment extended by Thomas Jefferson, somewhat ironically, to serve as Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Virginia; he continued in that post until 1845. He then relocated to Philadelphia and continued to research and write on a variety of topics, including monetary policy and socio-economics.