John Walker (February 13, 1744December 2, 1809) was a public official from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Biography

Walker was born in Virginia, the son of Dr. Thomas Walker. He received private education before attending the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

, which he graduated from in 1764. He was a neighbor and classmate at William and Mary of Thomas Jefferson and they remained close friends until the elections of 1804-1805. In 1768 he was elected to the

American Society The society of the United States is based on Western culture, and has been developing since long before the United States became a country with its own unique social and cultural characteristics such as dialect, music, arts, social habits, ...

.Bell, Whitfield J., and Charles Greifenstein, Jr. Patriot-Improvers: Biographical Sketches of Members of the American Philosophical Society. 3 vols. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1997, 2:251–255. In 1772 he replaced his father as a representative of the

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been establishe ...

. He was in the Continental Army, serving in 1777 as an aide-de-camp to General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

, holding the rank of colonel. In 1780, he was elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress. He then studied law. When

William Grayson William Grayson (1742 – March 12, 1790) was a planter, lawyer and statesman from Virginia. After leading a Virginia regiment in the Continental Army, Grayson served in the Virginia House of Delegates before becoming one of the first two U ...

died in 1790, Walker was appointed to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

to serve from March 31 to November 9 of that year, when a successor was elected by the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...

. Walker owned slaves. He died in 1809.

External links and references

Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, John 1744 births 1809 deaths People from Albemarle County, Virginia American people of English descent Continental Congressmen from Virginia Pro-Administration Party United States senators from Virginia House of Burgesses members Virginia lawyers American slave owners 18th-century American lawyers College of William & Mary alumni Continental Army officers from Virginia United States senators who owned slaves