Thomas B. Robertson

This article is about the U.S. Representative and Governor of Louisiana. For other people with a similar name, see Thomas Robertson (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Thomas Bolling Robertson.

Thomas B. Robertson
27th; 3rd after U.S. Statehood Governor of Louisiana
In office 1820–1824
Lieutenant	none
Preceded by	Jacques Villeré
Succeeded by	Henry S. Thibodaux
Personal details
Born	(1779-02-27)February 27, 1779 Petersburg, Virginia
Died	October 5, 1828(1828-10-05) (aged 49) White Sulphur Springs, Virginia
Political party	Democratic-Republican
Spouse(s)	Lelia Skipwith
Alma mater	College of William and Mary
Religion	Episcopalian

Thomas Bolling Robertson (February 27, 1779 – October 5, 1828) was a member of the U. S. House of Representatives representing the state of Louisiana, the third Governor and the Attorney General of Louisiana, and a United States federal judge.

Robertson was born near Petersburg, Virginia. After graduating from the College of William and Mary in 1795, he read law to enter the bar in 1806, and was briefly in private practice in Petersburg. He emigrated to Louisiana and was appointed Territorial Attorney General by Governor William C.C. Claiborne, from 1806-1807. He was then Secretary of the Territory of Orleans from 1807 until 1812, at which time Louisiana became a state. He was the first United States Representative from the State of Louisiana. He served four terms as a Democratic-Republican until his resignation in 1818. He briefly returned to private practice in Louisiana in 1818, but was appointed Attorney General of Louisiana from 1819-1820.

He was subsequently elected Governor of Louisiana and served from 1820 until his resignation in 1824. During his term as Governor, factional discord between established Creole citizens and newly arriving American settlers created a political crisis. Robertson was seen as weak for not acting to resolve the ethnic differences, and when he proposed moving the capital from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, riots broke out in the Crescent City and he was forced to resign. He saved face by accepting a federal judgeship, and on May 24, 1824, he was appointed by President James Monroe to a seat jointly held on the Eastern and Western Districts of Louisiana, both seats having been vacated by John Dick. Robertson was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 26, 1824, receiving his commission the same day, and serving thereafter until his death.

In 1827, Robertson, along with Armand Duplantier, Fulwar Skipwith, Antoine Blanc and Sebastien Hiriart received permission from the state legislature to organize a corporation called the Agricultural Society of Baton Rouge.

He became ill and died while recuperating in White Sulphur Springs, Virginia (now West Virginia).

Robertson had two brothers with political legacies: United States Representative John Robertson and Wyndham Robertson, a Governor of Virginia. Robertson Street in New Orleans is named for the former Governor.

External links

• Thomas B. Robertson at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Thomas B. Robertson at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• State of Louisiana - Biography
• Thomas B. Robertson at Find a Grave
• Cemetery Memorial by La-Cemeteries

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Julien de Lallande Poydras, delegate from the Territory of Orleans	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's at-large congressional district April 30, 1812 – April 20, 1818	Succeeded by Thomas Butler
Legal offices
Preceded by Louis Moreau de Liset	Attorney General of Louisiana 1818–1820	Succeeded by Etienne Mazureau
Political offices
Preceded by Jacques Villeré	Governor of Louisiana 1820–1824	Succeeded by Henry S. Thibodaux