City Readers Digital Historic Collections at the New York Society Library

St. George Tucker (July 10, 1752 – November 10, 1827), born in Bermuda, was a lawyer and, after the American Revolution, a professor of law at the College of William and Mary. He notably increased the requirements for a law degree at the college, as he believed lawyers needed deep educations. He served as a judge of the General Court of Virginia and later on the Court of Appeals.

Following the American Revolutionary War, Tucker supported the gradual emancipation of slaves, which he proposed to the state legislature in a pamphlet published in 1796. He wrote an American edition of Blackstone's "Commentaries" that became a valuable reference work for many American lawyers and law students in the early 19th century. President James Madison in 1813 appointed Tucker as the United States District Court judge for Virginia. Many of his descendants were notable lawyers, professors and politicians.