Guide Note

Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States. He was instated upon the death of Zachary Taylor.

Fillmore was the last Whig to hold the office of President and the second Vice President to have assumed the office following the death of a sitting President. After serving out Taylor's term, Fillmore failed to secure his party's nomination for the office.

Fast Facts

1. Born: January 7, 1800 in Summerhill, New York
2. Political Party: Whig
3. Administration: 1850-1853
4. Vice President: None
5. Succeeded by: Franklin Pierce
6. Secretary of State: Daniel Webster (1850-1852), Edward Everett (1852-1853)
7. Spouse: Abigail Fillmore
8. Occupation: Lawyer
9. Died: March 8, 1874 in New York

• January 7, 1800: Born in Summerhill, New York
• 1828-31: Member of New York State Assembly
• 1833-35: Serves in U.S. House of Representatives as member of The Anti-Masonic Party
• 1836-42: Serves in U.S. House of Representatives as member of The Whig Party
• 1844: Fails in bid to be elected Governor of New York
• 1849-50: Serves as Vice President under Zachary Taylor
• 1850: Taylor dies, Fillmore becomes thirteenth President on July 10; signs Compromise of 1850
• 1852: Fillmore loses Whig nomination to General Winfield Scott
• 1862: Named the first Chancellor of the University of Buffalo
• March 8, 1874: Dies

Fillmore's brief presidency saw the admission of California into the Union as a free state, the granting of territorial status to New Mexico, the abolition of the slave trade in Washington DC, the establishment of the White House Library and the assignment of Commodore Matthew Perry to Japan to open up an avenue for Western trade.