1779-1861

The St. George Tucker House

St. George Tucker, William & Mary's second Professor of Law and Police, usually held classes in his house, which still stands on W. Nicholson Street just east of Palace Green. Photo published in Vol. XXIV, No. 3 of the Bulletin, The...

Brafferton Hall circa 1922

Brafferton Hall was built in 1723 from the proceeds of the Brafferton estate and was used as an Indian School until the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Occasional law classes were held in the building from 1780-1859. After the Wren...

George Wythe House circa 1915

George Wythe taught law to students in his house, which still stands on Palace Green, both before and after he became Professor of Law and Police at William & Mary. Photo published in 1915 Colonial Echo.

Colonial Courthouse circa 1912

George Wythe and several of his successors used the Courthouse as a site for moot courts. It was used in this manner from 1779-1861. Photo published in the 1912 Colonial Echo.

Wren Building circa 1858

The Wren Building was the primary venue for law classes from January 1780 when Wythe became the first professor of law until it burned in 1859, shortly before the Civil War closed the College in 1861. Photograph was digitized by the...

Lucian Minor (1855-1858)

Lucian Minor served as the Chair of Law at the College of William & Mary from 1855-1858. More information about Lucian Minor is available here. Portrait is held by the College of William & Mary Earl Gregg Swem Library. Photograph was taken...

Nathaniel Beverley Tucker (1834-1851)

Nathaniel Beverley Tucker served as the Chair of Law at the College of William and Mary from 1834-1851. More information about Nathaniel Beverley Tucker is available here. Portrait is held by the College of William & Mary Earl Gregg Swem...

James Semple (Signature)

James Semple's signature taken from the 1822 volume of the Acts passed at a General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Robert Nelson (Signature)

Robert Nelson's signature taken from Volume 1 of A Collection of Modern Entries, or, Select Pleadings in the Courts of King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer ... : To which is Added a Collection of Writs in Most Cases Now in Practice...

St. George Tucker (1790-1804)

St. George Tucker served as the Chair of Law and Police at the College of William and Mary from 1790-1804. More information about St. George Tucker is available here. Portrait is held by the College of William & Mary Earl Gregg Swem...

George Wythe (1779-1789)

George Wythe served as the first Chair of Law and Police at the College of William and Mary from 1779-1789. More information about George Wythe is available here. Portrait is held by the College of William and Mary's Wolf Law Library.

At Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson’s urging, William & Mary’s Board of Visitors reorganizes the College and creates a new chair: Professor of Law and Police. George Wythe, who was Jefferson’s mentor, a Chancery Court judge, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, is appointed America’s first law professor and after William Blackstone, the second law professor in the English-speaking world.