Stephen Row Bradley (February 20, 1754 – December 9, 1830) was an American lawyer, judge and politician. He served as a United States Senator from the state of Vermont and as the President pro tempore of the United States Senate during the early 1800s. Early life Bradley was born on February 20, 1754, in the part of Wallingford, Connecticut that is now Cheshire. He was the son of Moses and Mary (Row) Bradley. He was the grandson of Stephen Bradley, a New Haven silversmith who was one of six brothers who served in Cromwell's Ironsides before emigrating to America. Bradley graduated from Yale College in 1775. After his graduation, Bradley was commissioned as captain in the Connecticut Militia and rose to the rank of major. He commanded the Cheshire Volunteers and in December 1776, he served as adjutant. He was promoted to vendue master (auctioneer of seized enemy and Loyalist property) and quartermaster, and then served as aide-de-camp to General Wooster during the British attack on Danbury on April 27, 1777 when Wooster was fatally wounded. Bradley resigned his commission after the battle. He received a Master of Arts degree from Yale in 1778. In 1779, he moved to Westminster, Vermont and studied law, directed by Tapping Reeve, founder of the Litchfield Law School. Bradley was admitted to the bar in 1779 and began the practice of law in Westminster, becoming an important citizen of the town. In October 1779, the Legislature selected him as one of five agents to the U.S. Congress from Vermont; in early 1780, he wrote a tract entitled Vermont's Appeal to a Candid and Impartial World, which defended Vermont's right to independence against competing claims by New York, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Political career In June 1780, Bradley was appointed state's attorney for Cumberland County, Vermont. He held the positions of register of probate and town clerk, and in 1783 he served as county judge. He also served for seven years in the Vermont House of Representatives in the 1780s. He was speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives during 1785. Bradley continued to be given additional responsibility in the militia. Appointed a first lieutenant in August 1780, he was promoted to colonel as commander of the 1st Regiment in October. He was later promoted to brigadier general as commander of the 8th Brigade, and served until 1791. He served as judge of the Vermont