by John T. Marck
15th President
Term- March 4, 1857 to March 4, 1861
Democratic Party
Birth: Cove Gap, (near Mercersburg) Pennsylvania, April 23, 1791.
Ancestry: Scotch-Irish
Marriage: Buchanan vowed never to marry after the woman he was engaged to died.
Children: None
Home: Wheatland, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Education: Attended Old Stone Academy; graduated from Dickinson College in 1809.
Religion: Presbyterian
Occupation before Presidency: Lawyer
Pre-Presidential Offices: Member of Pennsylvania Legislature; Member of U.S. House of
Representatives and U.S. Senate; Minister to Russia and Great Britain; Secretary of State.
Age at Inauguration: 65
Buchanan Administration: Vice President: John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky,
Inauguration March 4, 1857, The Capital, Washington, D.C.
Occupation after Presidency: Retired
Death: Lancaster, Pennsylvania, June 1, 1868.
Cause of Death: Rheumatic gout at age 77.
Place of Burial: Woodward Hill Cemetery, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Interesting Facts:
Buchanan was one of seven Presidents to have been born in a log cabin. The cabin now stands on the grounds of Mercersburg Academy, Mercersburg, Pennsylvania.
Buchanan worked out the first trade agreement with Russia when he served as Secretary of State under President Polk.
During his Presidency in October 1859, Federal troops stormed the U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry, which was occupied by anti-slavery militants under John Brown. Brown was found guilty of treason and hanged.
Buchanan had a habit of closing one of his eyes almost constantly, because he was nearsighted in one eye and farsighted in the other.
Copyright ©
1993-2022 by John T. Marck. All Rights Reserved. This article and their accompanying
pictures, photographs, and line art, may not be resold, reprinted, or
redistributed for compensation of any kind without prior written permission from
the author. From The Presidents of the United States by John T. Marck.
