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biographical info, refs
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'''William Rufus deVane King''' '''(1786 - 1853)''' was Vice President under [[Franklin Pierce]]. [[William King|King]] previously served as a US [[House of Representatives|Representative]] from [[North Carolina]] from 1811-1816 and as [[Senator]] for the State of [[Alabama]] from 1819-1844. He passed away from [[tuberculosis]] after only 45 days in office. He is the only [[Vice President]] to have been sworn in on foreign soil, as he was in [[Cuba]] for health reasons at the time of [[inauguration]].
'''William Rufus deVane King''' '''(1786 - 1853)''' was Vice President under [[Franklin Pierce]]. [[William King|King]] previously served as a US [[House of Representatives|Representative]] from [[North Carolina]] from 1811-1816, when he resigned, and as [[Senator]] for the State of [[Alabama]] from 1819-1844<ref>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=k000217 Official Congressional Biography]</ref>. A [[Democratic-Republican]], then a [[Jacksonian Democrat]], [[William King|King]] served as [[President pro tempore]] of the [[United States Senate|Senate]] from 1835-1841, after which the [[Whig]]s retook control. He passed away from [[tuberculosis]] after only 45 days in office. He is the only [[Vice President]] to have been sworn in on foreign soil, as he was in [[Cuba]] for health reasons at the time of [[inauguration]].
In 1818, King moved to Selma, [[Alabama]], where he became a delegate to the State's organizing convention in 1819. He was a [[slaveholder]] and owner of a large [[plantation]]<ref>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=k000217 Official Congressional Biography, ibid.]</ref>.
During the mid 19th century, the Vice Presidency was not viewed upon negatively, as it came to be in the early 20th century<ref>[http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/02/15/vp/ Weekend America Special - Vice Presidents We Never Knew]</ref>. At the time, the Vice President actually did preside over the [[United States Senate|Senate]] and the congenial [[William King|King]] was viewed as ideal for the position. As his coughing worsened throughout the 1852 campaign, he went to Cuba hoping that the climate would help him regain his health. [[Congress]] then passed a one time law allowing [[William King|King]] to be sworn in on foreign soil. A few weeks later he returned to [[Alabama]], where he passed away on April 18, 1853, just six weeks after taking office. He was initially interred at his plantation. However, the Selma City Council wished for King, as one of the city's founders, to be interred within its limits and he was reinterred there in 1882.
== References ==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:King, William}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, William}}