Joseph Anderson

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This page refers to the U.S. Senator from Tennessee, for the Brigadier General, see Joseph R. Anderson.

Joseph Anderson (November 5, 1757–April 17, 1837) was a U.S. political figure who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee and later as the first Comptroller of the United States Treasury.

Anderson was born near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He served in the American Revolutionary War and afterward was admitted to the Delaware bar. He was appointed United States judge of the Southwest Territory in 1791. In 1796 he served as a delegate to the convention that drafted the first Tennessee state constitution. In 1797 he was elected by the Tennessee General Assembly to fill the vacancy in the Senate created by that body's expulsion of the seat's original occupant, William Blount. That term was scheduled to expire on March 3, 1799; however, on December 12, 1798 the Tennessee General Assembly elected Anderson to the state's other Senate seat, the term for which was to expire on March 3, 1803.

Anderson was to serve in this seat continuously until his retirement from the Senate effective March 3, 1815. He was reelected by the General Assembly in 1803 and 1809. In the Eighth Congress (1803–1804), he served as President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate. After retiring from the Senate, he remained in Washington, D.C. and he was appointed Comptroller of the U.S. Treasury and served in that office from 1815 until 1836, dying the next year. He was interred in the Congressional Cemetery in the Anacostia section of Washington. Anderson County, Tennessee is named in honor of Joseph Anderson. His son Alexander Outlaw Anderson later served as a Senator from Tennessee.

Many of the biographical details contained in this article are derived from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

• A000197 Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Preceded by: Jesse Franklin	President pro tempore of the United States Senate January 15, 1805–December 1, 1805	Succeeded by: Samuel Smith
Preceded by: William Blount	United States Senator (Class 2) from Tennessee 1797-1799 Served alongside: x	Succeeded by: William Cocke
Preceded by: Daniel Smith	United States Senator (Class 1) from Tennessee 1799-1815 Served alongside: x	Succeeded by: George W. Campbell

Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate

Langdon • Lee • Langdon • Izard • H Tazewell • Livermore • Bingham • Bradford • Read • Sedgwick • Laurance • Ross • Livermore • Tracy • Howard • Hillhouse • Baldwin • Bradley • Brown • Franklin • Anderson • Smith • Bradley • Milledge • Gregg • Gaillard • Pope • Crawford • Varnum • Gaillard • Barbour • Gaillard • Macon • Smith • L Tazewell • White • Poindexter • Tyler • W R King • Southard • Mangum • Sevier • Atchison • W R King • Atchison • Cass • Bright • Stuart • Bright • Mason • Rusk • Fitzpatrick • Bright • Fitzpatrick • Foot • Clark • Foster • Wade • Anthony • Carpenter • Anthony • Ferry • Thurman • Bayard • Davis • Edmunds • Sherman • Ingalls • Manderson • Ransom • Harris • Frye • (Special: Bacon • Curtis • Gallinger • Brandegee • Lodge) • Clarke • Saulsbury • Cummins • Moses • Pittman • W H King • Harrison • Glass • McKellar • Vandenberg • McKellar • Bridges • George • Hayden • Russell • Ellender • Eastland • Magnuson • Young • Magnuson • Thurmond • Stennis • Byrd • Thurmond • Byrd • Thurmond • Byrd • Stevens Emeritus: Thurmond • Byrd