George Tucker (politician)
George Tucker (August 20, 1775April 10, 1861) was an American attorney, politician, historian, author, and educator in Virginia. His literary works include The Valley of Shenandoah (1824), the first fiction of colonial life in Virginia, and Voyage to the Moon (1827), which is among the nation's earliest science fiction novels. He also published the first comprehensive biography of Thomas Jefferson in 1837, as well as his History of the United States (1856). Tucker's authorship, and his work as a teacher, served to redeem an earlier life of unprincipled habits which had brought him some disrepute. Tucker was a son of the first mayor of Hamilton, Bermuda, Daniel Tucker. He immigrated to Virginia at age 20, was educated at the College of William and Mary, and was admitted to the bar. His first marriage to Mary Farley ended childless with her death in 1799; he remarried and had six children with wife Maria Carter, who died at age 38 in 1823. His third wife of 30 years was Louisa Thompson, who died in 1858. Aside from his law practice, Tucker wrote distinctive compositions for various publications. His topics ranged widely from the conceptual to the technical—from slavery, suffrage, and morality to