John Tyler

Attended private schools and graduated from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1807; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1809 and commenced practice in Charles City County; captain of a military company in 1813; member, House of Delegates of Virginia (1811-1816, 1823-1825, 1839); member of the Council of State in 1816; elected as a Republican to the 14th through 16th Congresses (served 16 Dec 1817 - 3 Mar 1821); Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia (10 Dec 1825 - 4 Mar 1827); elected (1827, 1833) to the US Senate (served 4 Mar 1827 - 29 Feb 1836); served as President pro tempore of the Senate during the 23rd Congress; resigned his seat in the US Senate to protest against the policy of President Andrew Jackson; member of the constitutional convention of Virginia in 1829 and 1830; elected Vice President of the United States on the Whig ticket with William Henry Harrison in 1840; was inaugurated 4 Mar 1841, and served until the death of President Harrison on 4 Apr 1841; assumed the presidency (4 Apr 1841) in capacity of president; opponents proposed to recognize him as acting president only, but the voting in the House of Representatives (31 May 1841) and the Senate (1 Jun 1841) recognized him as President of the United States [1]; rejecting the views of Whig party, vetoed a new national bank bill causing resignation of the Cabinet; Whig caucus declared all party ties with Tyler dissolved on 13 Sep 1841; reorganized the U.S. Navy; established the U.S. Weather Bureau; accomplished the Second Seminole War (1835-1842) in Florida; quieted Dorr's Rebellion (1842) in Rhode Island; initiated the annexation of Texas; did not seek reelection; delegate to and president of the peace convention held in Washington, D.C., in 1861 in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war; delegate to the Confederate Provisional Congress in 1861; elected to the House of Representatives of the Confederate Congress, but died on 18 Jan 1862, before the assembling of the Congress. [2]