Richard Skinner (May 30, 1778 – May 23, 1833) was an American politician, attorney, and jurist who served as the ninth governor of Vermont.

He married Fanny Pierpont and they had four children, including prominent Illinois politician Mark Skinner.

[1] Among the prospective attorneys who learned the law in Skinner's office was Pierpoint Isham, who served as a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1851 to 1856.

[3] Skinner lost in the 1814 election to the 14th Congress and returned to Vermont to resume the practice of law.

Skinner became a Judge on the Vermont Supreme Court in 1815 and 1816; he succeeded Asa Aldis as chief justice in 1816,[4] but declined reappointment to the post in 1817.