Richard Spencer (October 29, 1796 – September 3, 1868) was an American farmer, writer, and politician who represented the seventh congressional district of the state of Maryland from 1829 to 1831.
[1] He studied law in Baltimore and was admitted to the Talbot County bar in 1819.
He moved to his farm, Solitude, near St. Michaels, Maryland in 1822 and engaged in agricultural pursuits.
Spencer engaged in literary pursuits and, in 1828, he contributed to the establishment of the newspaper Eastern Shore Whig, which he controlled until 1834.
He served again in the Maryland House of Delegates in 1833 and 1834, but was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1835.