Tapping Reeve (October 1, 1744 – December 13, 1823) was an American lawyer and law educator. In 1784 he opened the Litchfield Law School, the first law school in the United States, in Litchfield, Connecticut. Tapping Reeve was born in Brookhaven, New York, on Long Island, to Reverend Abner Reeve. He graduated with his Bachelors degree in 1763 from the College of New Jersey in Princeton, NJ. While earning his Masters there (completed 1766) he also served as a headmaster of the grammar school associated with the college in nearby Elizabeth, NJ. It was here that he tutored the two children of Rev. Aaron Burr, who was the college president: future Vice President of the U.S. Aaron Burr, Jr. and Sarah, known as Sally. Reeve married Sarah on June 4, 1771 when she was 17 years old. Sarah was often in ill health, but on October 3, 1780 she gave birth to their only child, Aaron Burr Reeve. Aaron Burr Reeve would go on to graduate from Yale and became a lawyer in Troy, New York. Tapping and Sarah were married until her death on March 30, 1797. He married again in 1799, but had no other children. Tapping Reeve died on December 13, 1823 in Litchfield, Connecticut. He was 79 years old. Reeve tutored at the college from 1767 to 1770. In 1771 he began to study law with Judge Root, of Hartford, Connecticut. In 1772 he moved to Litchfield, Connecticut, situated on the crossroads of important inland trade routes, to open a new law practice. In 1773, he built a six-room, two story house. Also among his students was John C. Calhoun. Like Aaron Burr, he would also go on to become Vice President of the U.S.
