Felix Grundy was born on September 11, 1777 in Berkeley County, Virginia. He was admitted to the Kentucky state bar in 1797 and began practicing in Bardstown. Grundy served in the Kentucky Constitutional Convention in 1799 and went on to serve as a member of the State House of Representatives from 1800 to 1805. He was chosen as Judge of the Kentucky Supreme Court in 1806 and was promoted to Chief Justice in 1807. He soon resigned and moved to Nashville, where he resumed his legal practice before serving in the U.S. House of Representatives (1811-1814) and in the Tennessee House of Representatives (1819-1825). Grundy was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1833 to fill the vacancy caused by John Eaton's resignation. He resigned in 1838 to accept a Cabinet position was appointed Attorney General in July of the same year. He resigned in December of 1839, having been elected to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by Ephraim Foster's resignation. Grundy's eligibility was questioned on the grounds that he had been serving as Attorney General at the time of his election, but he was re-elected and served until his death in Nashville, Tennessee on December 19, 1840.