Henry St. George Tucker, Sr.

Henry St. George Tucker Sr. (December 29, 1780 – August 28, 1848) was an American judge, professor and politician.

Biography Tucker was born on Mattoax Plantation in Chesterfield County, Virginia on December 29, 1780, to St. George Tucker and Frances Bland, the daughter of Theodorick Bland of Cawsons. In 1823 he had a son, John Randolph Tucker. From 1824 to 1831 he operated the Winchester Law School. He went on to be judge and president of the Court of Appeals of Virginia (1831–1841) and then became a professor of law at the University of Virginia (1841 to 1845). He was chairman of faculty at the university from 1842 until 1845.

As a law professor, Tucker authored Commentaries on the Law of Virginia as well as several treatises on natural law and on the formation of the Constitution of the United States. He is widely known for adding a mandatory pledge to the student honor code while a professor at the University of Virginia. On July 4, 1842, St. George Tucker offered the following resolution as a gesture of confidence in students: "...resolved, that in all future examinations ... each candidate shall attach to the written answers ... a certificate of the following words: I, A.B., do hereby certify on my honor that I have derived no assistance during the time of this examination from any source whatsoever." Tucker's pledge was adopted and soon became the following: "I do hereby certify on honor that I have derived no assistance during the time of this examination from any source whatever, whether oral, written or in print." This basic pledge has, in one form or another, been adopted at many American universities.

Tucker resigned in July, 1845 due to ill health. He died in Winchester, Virginia in 1848.

Electoral history 1815; Tucker was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 71.5% of the vote, defeating Federalist Griffin Taylor and Independent Robert Bailey. 1817; Tucker was re-elected with 67.84% of the vote, defeating fellow Democratic-Republican William Carlson.

Legacy and honors The papers of the Tucker-Coleman family, including the papers of Henry St. George Tucker, are held by the Special Collections Research Center at the College of William & Mary. His home near Leetown, West Virginia, known as Woodbury, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Tucker County, West Virginia is named in his honor.

Works Commentaries on the Law of Virginia (2 vols., Winchester, 1836–1837) Lectures on Constitutional Law (Richmond, 1843) Lectures on Natural Law and Government (Charlottesville, 1844)