William R. King

Vice president of the United States from March to April 1853 (1786–1853)

Fame58.1
Momentum6.5
Wikipedia14.2K

Source-basedStable

Lived 1786–1853, aged 67United States

United States PoliticiansPolitician

Wikipedia
54 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1786–1853
Aged 67

Summary

Updated 2026-06-08

The only U.S. vice president sworn in on foreign soil — tuberculosis had him so far gone Congress let him take the oath in Cuba. He died six weeks later without ever performing a single duty of the office.

Biography

About

William Rufus DeVane King came up through North Carolina politics before Alabama statehood made him one of its first senators in 1819. A Democratic-Republican who aligned with Andrew Jackson, he served multiple Senate terms and rose to president pro tempore, threading the needle on slavery's expansion: he supported it in the territories and opposed abolitionists, but also opposed secession as the sectional crisis deepened. He served as minister to France before the Democrats tapped him for vice president on Franklin Pierce's 1852 ticket. By then tuberculosis was killing him. Congress made an e…

Gallery