*** Welcome to piglix ***

William Rufus King

William R. King
William Rufus DeVane King 1839 portrait.jpg
Portrait of King, painted by George Cooke in 1839
13th Vice President of the United States
In office
March 4, 1853 – April 18, 1853
President Franklin Pierce
Preceded by Millard Fillmore
Succeeded by John C. Breckinridge
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
In office
May 6, 1850 – December 20, 1852
Preceded by David Rice Atchison
Succeeded by David Rice Atchison
In office
July 1, 1836 – March 4, 1841
Preceded by John Tyler
Succeeded by Samuel L. Southard
United States Minister to France
In office
April 9, 1844 – September 15, 1846
Preceded by Lewis Cass
Succeeded by Richard Rush
United States Senator
from Alabama
In office
July 1, 1848 – December 20, 1852
Preceded by Arthur P. Bagby
Succeeded by Benjamin Fitzpatrick
In office
December 14, 1819 – April 15, 1844
Preceded by None (Statehood)
Succeeded by Dixon Hall Lewis
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 5th district
In office
March 4, 1811 – November 4, 1816
Preceded by Thomas Kenan
Succeeded by Charles Hooks
Member of the North Carolina House of Commons
In office
1807–1809
Personal details
Born William Rufus DeVane King
(1786-04-07)April 7, 1786
Sampson County, North Carolina, U.S.
Died April 18, 1853(1853-04-18) (aged 67)
Selma, Alabama, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Other political
affiliations
Democratic-Republican (Before 1828)
Alma mater University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Signature Cursive signature in ink

William Rufus DeVane King (April 7, 1786 – April 18, 1853) was an American politician and diplomat. He was the 13th Vice President of the United States for six weeks in 1853 before his death. Earlier he had been elected as a U.S. Representative from North Carolina and a Senator from Alabama. He also served as Minister to France during the reign of King Louis Philippe I.

A Democrat, he was a Unionist and his contemporaries considered him to be a moderate on the issues of sectionalism, slavery and westward expansion, which contributed to the American Civil War. He helped draft the Compromise of 1850. He is the only United States executive official to take the oath of office on foreign soil; inaugurated in Havana, Cuba due to poor health. King died of tuberculosis after 45 days in office. With the exceptions of John Tyler and Andrew Johnson—both of whom succeeded to the Presidency—he is the shortest-serving Vice President.

King was the only Vice President from the State of Alabama and held the highest political office of any Alabamian in American history. He was the third Vice President to die in office.

King was born in Sampson County, North Carolina, to William King and Margaret deVane. His family was large, wealthy and well-connected. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1803, where he was also a member of the Philanthropic Society. Admitted to the bar in 1806 after reading the law with Judge William Duffy of Fayetteville, North Carolina, he began practice in Clinton. King was an ardent Freemason, and was a member of Fayetteville's Phoenix Lodge No. 8.


...
Wikipedia

...