Richard Mentor Johnson
| Richard Mentor Johnson | |
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| 9th Vice President of the United States | |
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In office March 4, 1837 – March 4, 1841 |
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| President | Martin Van Buren |
| Preceded by | Martin Van Buren |
| Succeeded by | John Tyler |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 13th district |
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In office March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837 |
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| Preceded by | District created |
| Succeeded by | William Wright Southgate |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 5th district |
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In office March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1833 |
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| Preceded by | Robert L. McHatton |
| Succeeded by | Robert P. Letcher |
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United States Senator from Kentucky |
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In office December 10, 1819 – March 3, 1829 |
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| Preceded by | John J. Crittenden |
| Succeeded by | George M. Bibb |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 3rd district |
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In office March 4, 1813 – March 3, 1819 |
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| Preceded by | Stephen Ormsby |
| Succeeded by | William Brown |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 4th district |
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In office March 4, 1807 – March 3, 1813 |
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| Preceded by | Thomas Sandford |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Desha |
| Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives | |
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In office 1804–1806 1819 1841–1843 1850 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 17, 1780 Beargrass, Virginia (now Kentucky), United States |
| Died | November 19, 1850 (aged 70) Frankfort, Kentucky |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican, Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Julia Ann Chinn (c.1790–1833) (common law marriage) |
| Relations | Brother of James Johnson Brother of John Telemachus Johnson Uncle of Robert Ward Johnson |
| Children |
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| Alma mater | Transylvania University |
| Religion | Baptist |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1812–1814 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Battles/wars | |
Richard Mentor Johnson (October 17, 1780 – November 19, 1850) was the ninth Vice President of the United States, serving in the administration of Martin Van Buren (1837–41). He is the only vice president ever elected by the United States Senate under the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment. Johnson also represented Kentucky in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate; he began and ended his political career in the Kentucky House of Representatives.
Johnson was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1806. He became allied with fellow Kentuckian Henry Clay as a member of the War Hawks faction that favored war with Britain in 1812. At the outset of the War of 1812, Johnson was commissioned a colonel in the Kentucky Militia and commanded a regiment of mounted volunteers from 1812 to 1813. He and his brother James served under William Henry Harrison in Upper Canada. Johnson participated in the Battle of the Thames. Some reported that he personally killed the Shawnee chief Tecumseh, which he later used to his political advantage.
After the war, Johnson returned to the House of Representatives. The legislature appointed him to the Senate in 1819 to fill the seat vacated by John J. Crittenden. As his prominence grew, his interracial relationship with Julia Chinn, an octoroon slave, was more widely criticized. It worked against his political ambitions. Unlike other upper class leaders who had African American mistresses but never mentioned them, Johnson openly treated Chinn as his common law wife. He acknowledged their two daughters as his children, giving them his surname, much to the consternation of some of his constituents. The relationship is believed to have led to the loss of his Senate seat in 1829, but his Congressional district returned him to the House the next year.
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