[1] He was a slave owner,[2][3] and served as President pro tempore of the United States Senate in 1795.

He attended the rural schools and graduated from the College of William & Mary at Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1770.

During the American Revolutionary War, he raised and was commissioned captain of a troop of cavalry.

In 1794, Tazewell was elected to the US Senate to fill the vacancy that had been caused by the resignation of John Taylor.

[7] Tazewell died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 24, 1799, and is interred at Christ Church Burial Ground.