Theodore Sedgwick

Theodore Sedgwick (May 9, 1746-January 24, 1813), a Delegate, a Representative, and a Senator from Massachusetts and the fifth Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, was born in West Hartford, Connecticut.

Sedgwick attended Yale College, where he studied theology and law. He was admitted to the bar in 1766 and commenced practice in Great Barrington, Massachusetts; moved to Sheffield, Massachusetts; during the American Revolution served in the expedition against Canada in 1776.

A Federalist, Sedgwick's political career began in 1780 and lasted until he became a judge of the supreme court of Massachusetts in 1802, a position he held until his death in Boston, Massachusetts in 1813. He was buried in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

Political Career

• Member, State House of Representatives 1780, 1782-1783
• Member, State Senate 1784-1785
• Member of the Continental Congress 1785, 1786, and 1788
• Member, State House of Representatives 1787-1788, and served as speaker
• Delegate to the state convention that adopted the Federal Constitution in 1788
• Elected to the First and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1789, until his resignation in June 1796
• Elected as a Federalist to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Caleb Strong and served from June 11, 1796, to March 3, 1799
• Served as President pro tempore of the Senate during the Fifth Congress
• Elected to the Sixth Congress (March 4, 1799-March 3, 1801)
• Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sixth Congress
• Judge of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts 1802-1813