John Walker (Virginia politician)

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

John Theodorus Walker
United States Senator from Virginia
In office March 31, 1790 – November 9, 1790
Appointed by	Beverley Randolph
Preceded by	William Grayson
Succeeded by	James Monroe
Delegate to the Second Continental Congress from Virginia
In office 1780
Member of the Virginia House of Burgesses from Albemarle County
In office February 10, 1772 – November 29, 1776 Alongside Thomas Jefferson
Preceded by	Thomas Walker
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	(1744-02-13)February 13, 1744 Cobham, Virginia
Died	December 2, 1809(1809-12-02) (aged 65) Madison Mills, Virginia
Political party	Pro-Administration
Alma mater	College of William & Mary
Profession	Lawyer

Biography

Walker was born in Virginia, the son of Dr. Thomas Walker. He received private education before attending the College of William and Mary, 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.^[1] In 1772, he replaced his father as a representative of the House of Burgesses. He was in the Continental Army, serving in 1777 as an aide-de-camp to General George Washington, holding the rank of colonel. In 1780, he was elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress. He then studied law. When William Grayson died in 1790, Walker was appointed to the United States Senate to serve from March 31 to November 9 of that year, when a successor was elected by the Virginia General Assembly. Thomas Jefferson’s attempted seduction of his wife, which almost led to a duel, and was fodder for the Federalist Press, is discussed in Dumas Malone’s Jefferson the Virginian (Boston, Little Brown and Company, 1948 Appendix III pp 447-451).

Walker was an elected member of the American Philosophical Society.^[2]

Walker owned slaves.^[3] He died in 1809.