William R. King

William R. King
1839 portrait
13th Vice President of the United States
In office
March 4, 1853[a] – April 18, 1853
PresidentFranklin Pierce
Preceded byMillard Fillmore
Succeeded byJohn C. Breckinridge
United States Senator
from Alabama
In office
July 1, 1848 – December 20, 1852
Preceded byArthur P. Bagby
Succeeded byBenjamin Fitzpatrick
In office
December 14, 1819 – April 15, 1844
Preceded bySeat established
Succeeded byDixon Hall Lewis
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
In office
May 6, 1850 – December 20, 1852
Preceded byDavid Rice Atchison
Succeeded byDavid Rice Atchison
In office
July 1, 1836 – March 4, 1841
Preceded byJohn Tyler
Succeeded bySamuel L. Southard
United States Minister to France
In office
April 9, 1844 – September 15, 1846
PresidentJohn Tyler
James K. Polk
Preceded byLewis Cass
Succeeded byRichard Rush
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 5th district
In office
March 4, 1811 – November 4, 1816
Preceded byThomas Kenan
Succeeded byCharles 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.
DiedApril 18, 1853(1853-04-18) (aged 67)
Selma, Alabama, U.S.
Resting placeOld Live Oak Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic-Republican (before 1828)
Democratic (1828–1853)
EducationUniversity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BA)
SignatureCursive 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 from March 4 until his death in April 1853. Earlier he had served as a U.S. representative from North Carolina and a senator from Alabama. He also served as minister to France under President James K. Polk.

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.[1] He is the only United States vice president to take the oath of office on foreign soil; he was inaugurated in Cuba, due to his poor health. He died of tuberculosis 45 days later, becoming the third vice president to die in office. Only John Tyler and Andrew Johnson, both of whom succeeded to the presidency, have had shorter tenures. King was the only U.S. vice president from Alabama.


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  1. ^ Daniel Fate Brooks (2003). "The Faces of William R. King" (PDF). Alabama Heritage. 69 (Summer). University of Alabama, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama Department of Archives and History: 14–23. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2013-05-03.