David Rice Atchison
| David Rice Atchison | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| President pro tempore of the United States Senate | |
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In office August 8, 1846 – December 2, 1849 |
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| Preceded by | Ambrose Hundley Sevier |
| Succeeded by | William R. King |
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In office December 20, 1852 – December 4, 1854 |
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| Preceded by | William R. King |
| Succeeded by | Lewis Cass |
| Member of the Missouri House of Representatives | |
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In office 1834 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 11, 1807 Lexington, Kentucky |
| Died | January 26, 1886 (aged 78) Gower, Missouri |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Transylvania University |
| Profession | Lawyer, Politician, farmer, soldier |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Confederate States of America
|
| Service/branch | Missouri Militia Missouri State Guard
|
| Years of service | 1838 1861–1862 |
| Rank |
 Major General (militia) Brigadier General (MSG) |
| Battles/wars |
Missouri Mormon War American Civil War |
David Rice Atchison (August 11, 1807 – January 26, 1886) was a mid-19th century DemocraticUnited States Senator from Missouri. He served as President pro tempore of the United States Senate for six years. Atchison served as a Major General in the Missouri State Militia in 1838 during Missouri's Mormon War and as a Confederate Brig. General during the Civil War under MG Sterling Price in the Missouri Home Guard. He is best known for the questionable claim that for one day (March 4, 1849) he may have been Acting President of the United States. This belief, however, is dismissed by nearly all historians, scholars, and biographers.
Atchison, owner of many slaves and a plantation, was a prominent pro-slavery activist and Border Ruffian leader, deeply involved with violence against abolitionists and other free-staters during the "Bleeding Kansas" events.
Atchison was born to William Atchison in Frogtown (later Kirklevington), which is now part of Lexington, Kentucky. He was educated at Transylvania University in Lexington, where his classmates included five future Democratic senators (Solomon Downs of Louisiana, Jesse Bright of Indiana, George W. Jones of Iowa, Edward Hannegan of Indiana, and Jefferson Davis of Mississippi). Atchison was admitted to the Kentucky bar in 1829.
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