Thomas W. Hardwick (December 9, 1872 - January 31, 1944) was an American politician from the state of Georgia. He was born in Thomasville, Georgia and attended Mercer University. Hardwick began practicing law in 1893. He was the prosecutor of Washington County, Georgia from 1895 to 1897, a member of the Georgia state house of representatives from 1898 to 1902, and a member of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia from 1903 to 1914. In 1914 he ran for a seat in the United States Senate in a special election for the unexpired term of Augustus O. Bacon who had died in office. Hardwick won, and served in the Senate from 1915 until 1919. He was defeated in the Democratic primary for reelection in 1918 by William J. Harris. Hardwick served as governor of Georgia from 1921 until 1923. He ran unsuccessfully for election to the Senate in 1922 and 1924, and then retired from politics. He spent the rest of his life practicing law, with offices in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Georgia and Sandersville, Georgia. He died in Sandersville.
One of Hardwick's most notable actions as governor of Georgia was his appointment of Rebecca Latimer Felton to the United States Senate as a temporary replacement for Thomas E. Watson who had died. Though Felton only served for a few weeks, she was the first woman to serve in the Senate.
