George Thatcher
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George Thatcher (April 12, 1754– April 6, 1824) was an American lawyer, jurist, and statesman from the Maine district of Massachusetts. His name sometimes appears as George Thacher (not to be confused with George Thacher, former mayor of Albany, New York. He was a delegate for Massachusetts to the Continental Congress in 1787 and 1788. He served as a justice in the state supreme court in both Massachusetts and Maine.
Thatcher was born in Yarmouth, Massachusetts. After private tutoring, he attended Harvard, graduating in 1776. He read law and was admitted to the bar in 1778, and then moved to York, Maine to open a practice. By 1782 he had settled in Biddeford, Maine, and remained there for the rest of his life.
Thatcher was named as one of the Massachusetts delegates to the Continental Congress in 1787. He was later elected a U.S. Congressman from the Maine district of Massachusetts, as a Pro-administration candidate in 1789 to 1792 and as a Federalist from 1794 to 1801. He did not seek re-election in 1800.
Thatcher accepted an appointment to a Massachusetts state court in 1792 and served until 1800 when he was appointed to the state's Supreme Court. During the organization of Maine's statehood in 1819, he was a member of the convention that created the new state's constitution. When statehood was achieved in 1820, he resigned from the Massachusetts court, and became a justice of the new Supreme Court of Maine. He served there until his death.
Thatcher, an ardent Unitarian, helped to sponsor the creation of Bowdoin College so that Maine would have its own institution for advanced education. For the college's first dozen years, he served as a regent.
Thatcher died at his home, and is buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery at Biddeford.
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| Preceded by None; first in line |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 6th congressional district (Maine district) March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1791 |
Succeeded by George Leonard |
| Preceded by Jonathan Grout |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 8th congressional district (Maine district) March 4, 1791 – March 3, 1793 |
Succeeded by None; district eliminated |
| Preceded by Theodore Sedgwick |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 4th congressional district (Maine district) March 4, 1793 – March 3, 1795 alongside: Henry Dearborn, Peleg Wadsworth on a General ticket |
Succeeded by Dwight Foster |
| Preceded by None; district created |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 14th congressional district (Maine district) 1795 – 1801 |
Succeeded by Richard Cutts |
