Thomas Todd

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Thomas Todd (January 23, 1765 – February 7, 1826) was an American judge who served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1807 to 1826. Nominated by President Thomas Jefferson after the Court was expanded, he filled the new seat and served under Chief Justice John Marshall. Most of his Supreme Court opinions dealt with land claims, and he wrote only a few constitutional opinions.

Born in King and Queen County, Virginia, Todd was the youngest of five children and was orphaned young. He grew up with limited schooling, joined the Continental Army as a private in 1781, and later attended Liberty Hall Academy (now Washington and Lee University), graduating in 1783. He worked as a tutor and studied law by reading, moving to Kentucky with the family of Judge Harry Innes. He was admitted to the Kentucky bar in 1786 and practiced in Danville.

Todd helped lead Kentucky to statehood. He served as secretary to ten conventions (1784–1792) that pushed for Kentucky's formation, and later became the first clerk of the Kentucky Court of Appeals (1801) and its chief judge (1806–1807). He also served a term in the Virginia House of Delegates for Lincoln County in 1791 and ran for governor of Kentucky in 1795 and again in 1800.

In his personal life, Todd married Elizabeth Harris in 1788. After her death, he married Lucy Payne Washington in 1812. They had eight children. Todd owned slaves and held extensive land in Kentucky. He died in Frankfort, Kentucky, in 1826 and was buried in Frankfort Cemetery. He was a member of the American Antiquarian Society and a Freemason; a WWII ship was named in his honor.