John Selby Spence (February 29, 1788October 24, 1840) was an American politician. Born near Snow Hill, Maryland, Spence attended the common schools and graduated from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia in 1809 and practiced in Worcester County, Maryland. Spence served as a member of both the Maryland House of Delegates and as a member of the Maryland State Senate. In 1822, Spence was elected to the Eighteenth Congress, and served from March 4, 1823, to March 3, 1825. He was again elected as an Anti-Jacksonian in 1830 to the Twenty-second Congress, and served from March 4, 1831, to March 3, 1833. In 1836, Spence was elected as an Anti-Jacksonian (later Whig) to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Robert H. Goldsborough. He was reelected in 1837, and served from December 31, 1836, until his death near Berlin, Maryland, in 1840. He is interred in the Episcopal Churchyard. See also List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899) References External links 1788 births 1840 deaths Maryland state senators Members of the Maryland House of Delegates United States senators from Maryland People from Snow Hill, Maryland Maryland National Republicans Maryland Whigs National Republican Party United States senators Whig Party United States senators Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland 19th-century American politicians