10. John Tyler

“His Accidency”

Presidential Basics

  • Full name: John Tyler
  • Years in office: 1841–1845
  • Political party: Whig
  • Vice president: None (following Harrison’s death)
  • Age at inauguration: 51
  • Nicknames: “His Accidency,” “Accidental President”

Random Trivia

  • Most children: John Tyler had the most children of any president.
  • Setting the precedent: John Tyler established the precedent of the VP taking over when the president dies.

Birth & Death

  • Birthday: March 29, 1790 in
  • Birthplace: Greenway, Virginia
  • Death date: January 18, 1862 in
  • Place of death: Richmond, Virginia
  • Place of burial: Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia
  • Last words: “Perhaps it is best.”

Family

  • Father: John Tyler (1747–1813); Judge, governor of Virginia
  • Mother: Mary Marot Armistead Tyler (1761–1797)
  • First wife: Letitia Christian (1790 – 1842)
  • First marriage: March 29, 1813 in Virginia
  • Second wife: Julia Gardiner (1820 – 1889)
  • Second marriage: June 26, 1844 in New York
  • Kids: Fifteen
    • From first wife: 
    • Mary (1815–1848)
    • Robert (1816–1877)
    • John (1819–1896)
    • Letitia (1821–1907)
    • Elizabeth (1823– 1850)
    • Anne (1825–1825)
    • Alice (1827–1854)
    • Tazewell (1830–1874)
    • From second wife:
    • David Gardiner (1846–1927)
    • John Alexander (1848–1883)
    • Julia (1849–1871)
    • Lachlan (1851–1902)
    • Lyon Gardiner (1853–1935)
    • Robert Fitzwalter (1856–1927)
    • Pearl (1860–1947)
  • Home: Sherwood Forest in Charles City, Virginia

Other Facts

  • Height: 6′
  • Eye color: Blue
  • Ancestry: English
  • Religion: Episcopalian
  • Born in a log cabin: No
  • Owned enslaved people: Yes
  • Freemason: No

Education

  • Early education: Local Virginia schools
  • College degree: Yes
  • College: William and Mary College (graduated in 1807)

Career

  • Military Service: Yes
  • Lawyer: Yes
  • Captain of Volunteer Company in Richmond, Virginia
  • Lawyer (1809–)
  • Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1816–1821)
  • Member of Virginia Legislature (1823–1825)
  • Governor of Virginia (1825–1826)
  • Member of the U.S. Senate (1827–1836)
  • Vice President  William Henry Harrison administration (1841)
  • President (1841–1845)
  • Member of Confederate Congress (1861–1862)

Writings

  • Letters and Times of the Tylers

Elections

  • John Tyler was never elected to the presidency.

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