Hannibal Hamlin

Hannibal Hamlin
Photograph c. 1860–1865
15th Vice President of the United States
In office
March 4, 1861 – March 4, 1865
PresidentAbraham Lincoln
Preceded byJohn C. Breckinridge
Succeeded byAndrew Johnson
United States Minister to Spain
In office
December 20, 1881 – October 17, 1882
PresidentChester A. Arthur
Preceded byLucius Fairchild
Succeeded byJohn W. Foster
United States Senator
from Maine
In office
March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1881
Preceded byLot M. Morrill
Succeeded byEugene Hale
In office
March 4, 1857 – January 17, 1861
Preceded byAmos Nourse
Succeeded byLot M. Morrill
In office
June 8, 1848 – January 7, 1857
Preceded byWyman B. S. Moor
Succeeded byAmos Nourse
26th Governor of Maine
In office
January 8, 1857 – February 25, 1857
Preceded bySamuel Wells
Succeeded byJoseph H. Williams
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maine's 6th district
In office
March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1847
Preceded byAlfred Marshall
Succeeded byJames S. Wiley
Personal details
Born(1809-08-27)August 27, 1809
Paris, Massachusetts (now Maine), U.S.
DiedJuly 4, 1891(1891-07-04) (aged 81)
Bangor, Maine, U.S.
Resting placeMount Hope Cemetery (Bangor, Maine)
Political partyRepublican (1856–1891)
Other political
affiliations
Democratic (before 1856)
Spouses
Sarah Emery
(m. 1833; died 1855)
(m. 1856)
Children6, including Charles, Cyrus, and Hannibal
SignatureCursive signature in ink
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/serviceMaine State Guard
Years of service1864
RankCorporal
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Hannibal Hamlin (August 27, 1809 – July 4, 1891) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 15th vice president of the United States from 1861 to 1865, during President Abraham Lincoln's first term. He was the first Republican vice president.

An attorney by background, Hamlin began his political career as a Democrat in the Maine House of Representatives before being elected twice to the United States House of Representatives, and then to the United States Senate. With his strong abolitionist views, he left the Democratic Party for the newly formed Republican Party in 1856. In the 1860 general election, Hamlin balanced the successful Republican ticket as a New Englander partnered with the Northwesterner Lincoln. Although not a close friend of the president, he lent loyal support to his key projects such as the Emancipation Proclamation.

In the 1864 election, Hamlin was replaced as vice-presidential nominee by Andrew Johnson, a Southern Democrat chosen for his appeal to Southern Unionists. After being appointed Collector of the Port of Boston, Hamlin was elected to two more terms in the Senate, and finally served as U.S. Minister to Spain before retiring in 1882.