Philip P. Barbour

Philip Pendleton Barbour lived from May 25, 1783 to February 25, 1841 and was the tenth speaker of the United States House of Representatives and an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, the only person to have served in both positions. Born in Gordonsville, Virginia, Barbour established a legal career there after studying at the College of William and Mary; several members of his family, including his brother James Barbour, went on to hold prominent political office. Barbour won election to the House of Representatives in 1814 as a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, served a single term as speaker from 1821 to 1823, and declined to seek re-election in 1824 before returning to Congress in 1827 as an ally of Andrew Jackson. He served in Congress until 1830, when he accepted appointment as a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, and President Jackson appointed him to the Supreme Court in 1835 to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Gabriel Duvall. Barbour served on the Court until his death in 1841, generally supporting Jacksonian principles and states rights.