Richard Thomas Walker Duke

This article is about the Virginia congressman and lawyer. For the English poet, see Richard Duke.

Richard T.W. Duke
File:Richard T.W. Duke.gif
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Albemarle County
In office 1880 – 1881 Alongside T.L. Michie
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 5th district
In office November 8, 1870 – March 3, 1873
Preceded by	Robert Ridgway
Succeeded by	Alexander Davis
Personal details
Born	June 6, 1822 Charlottesville, Virginia
Died	"Sunny Side," Charlottesville, Virginia
Resting place	Maplewood Cemetery, Charlotteville, Virginia
Political party	Conservative
Other political affiliations	Funder (in 1880s)
Profession	lawyer
Military service
Allegiance	Confederate States of America
Service/branch	Confederate Army
Rank	Colonel
Unit	46th Virginia Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars	American Civil War

Richard Thomas Walker Duke, Sr. (June 6, 1822 – July 2, 1898) was a nineteenth-century congressman and lawyer from Virginia.

Biography

Born near Charlottesville, Virginia, Duke attended private schools as a child and graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1844 and from the law department of the University of Virginia in 1850. He was elected the commonwealth attorney for Albemarle County, Virginia in 1858 which he served as until 1869. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Duke enlisted in the Confederate Army becoming colonel of the 46th Regiment, Virginia Infantry. He was elected a Conservative to the United States House of Representatives to fill a vacancy in 1870, defeating Alexander Rives, and serving until 1873. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1879 and 1880. Duke died at his estate called "Sunny Side" near Charlottesville, Virginia on July 2, 1898 and was interred in Maplewood Cemetery in Charlottesville.

Electoral history

1870 - Duke was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives unopposed in a special election and was concurrently elected in the general election unopposed.

External links

• Richard Thomas Walker Duke at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2008-10-18
• Richard Thomas Walker Duke at the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society
• A Genealogy of the Duke-Shepherd-Van Metre Family (page 271)
• The Duke Family Papers

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Robert Ridgway	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 5th congressional district 1870–1873	Succeeded by Alexander Davis