View source for William R. King

{{Short description|Vice President of the United States in 1853}}
{{Other people|William King}}
{{distinguish|Rufus King}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image               = William Rufus DeVane King 1839 portrait (cropped).jpg
| caption             = Portrait of King, 1839
| office              = 13th [[Vice President of the United States]]
| president           = [[Franklin Pierce]]
| term_start          = March 4, 1853{{efn|King was inaugurated—near [[Matanzas, Cuba|Matanzas]], in the [[Kingdom of Spain|Spanish]] colony of [[Captaincy General of Cuba|Cuba]]—twenty days after his term began (March 4) due to poor health. He was the first and only vice president of the United States to be sworn in on foreign soil.}}
| term_end            = April 18, 1853
| predecessor         = [[Millard Fillmore]]
| successor           = [[John C. Breckinridge]]
| office4             = [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate]]
| term_start4         = May 6, 1850
| term_end4           = December 20, 1852
| predecessor4        = [[David Rice Atchison]]
| successor4          = David Rice Atchison
| term_start5         = July 1, 1836
| term_end5           = March 3, 1841
| predecessor5        = [[John Tyler]]
| successor5          = [[Samuel L. Southard]]
| jr/sr2              = United States Senator
| state2              = [[Alabama]]
| term_start2         = July 1, 1848
| term_end2           = December 20, 1852
| predecessor2        = [[Arthur P. Bagby]]
| successor2          = [[Benjamin Fitzpatrick]]
| term_start3         = December 14, 1819
| term_end3           = April 15, 1844
| predecessor3        = Seat established
| successor3          = [[Dixon Hall Lewis]]
| order6              = 16th [[List of United States ambassadors to France|United States Minister to France]]
| term_start6         = April 9, 1844
| term_end6           = September 15, 1846
| president6          = [[John Tyler]]<br>[[James K. Polk]]
| predecessor6        = [[Lewis Cass]]
| successor6          = [[Richard Rush]]
| state7              = [[North Carolina]]
| district7           = {{ushr|NC|5|5th}}
| term_start7         = March 4, 1811
| term_end7           = November 4, 1816
| predecessor7        = [[Thomas Kenan]]
| successor7          = [[Charles Hooks]]
| office8             = Member of the <br>[[North Carolina House of Representatives|North Carolina House of Commons]]
| term_start8         = 1807
| term_end8           = 1809
| birth_name          = William Rufus DeVane King
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1786|4|7}}
| birth_place         = [[Sampson County, North Carolina]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1853|4|18|1786|4|7}}
| death_place         = [[Selma, Alabama]], U.S.
| party               = [[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republican]] (before 1828)<br>[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] (1828–1853)
| education           = [[University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| resting_place        = [[Old Live Oak Cemetery]]
| signature           = William R King Signature.svg
| signature_alt       = Cursive signature in ink
}}

'''William Rufus DeVane King''' (April 7, 1786 – April 18, 1853) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 13th [[vice president of the United States]] from March 4, 1853, until his death. He previously served as a [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. representative]] from [[North Carolina]], a [[U.S. senator]] from [[Alabama]], and [[United States Ambassador to France|minister to France]].

A [[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republican]] and later a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], King was a leading political figure in early Alabama and was elected as one of the state's first U.S. senators after its admission to the Union in 1819. He aligned politically with [[Andrew Jackson]] and served multiple terms in the Senate, including as [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|president pro tempore]]. During the sectional disputes preceding the [[American Civil War]], he supported [[slavery]] and opposed [[abolitionist]] efforts in the territories, while also opposing [[secession]].

King was elected vice president in 1852 on the ticket headed by [[Franklin Pierce]]. Because he was ill with [[tuberculosis]], Congress permitted him to take the oath of office in [[Captaincy General of Cuba|Cuba]], making him the only U.S. vice president to be sworn in on foreign soil. He died 45 days later, without carrying out any duties of the office. Historians have also written about his close relationship with [[James Buchanan]].

== Early life ==
King was born on April 7, 1786, in [[Sampson County, North Carolina]], the son of William King and Margaret DeVane. He graduated from the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] in 1803, where he was a member of the [[Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies|Philanthropic Society]]. After [[reading law]] with Judge William Duffy of [[Fayetteville, North Carolina]], he was admitted to the bar in 1805 or 1806 and began practicing law in [[Clinton, North Carolina|Clinton]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2016-10-04 |title=William R. D. King (1853) {{!}} Miller Center |url=https://millercenter.org/president/pierce/essays/king-1853-vicepresident |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=[[Miller Center of Public Affairs]] |language=en}}</ref> King was also a [[Freemasonry|Freemason]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=1937-11-26 |title=Vice Presidents, Freemasons |url=https://www.virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=HR19371126.2.67&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------- |access-date=2025-05-04}}</ref>

== Political career ==
[[File:William R. King, Senator from Alabama LCCN2003656251 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|left|Lithograph of King, {{circa}} 1840]]
King entered politics as an elected member of the [[North Carolina House of Commons]], serving from 1807 to 1809, and later became city solicitor of [[Wilmington, North Carolina]], in 1810. He was elected to the Twelfth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth [[United States Congress|Congresses]], serving from March 4, 1811, until November 4, 1816, when he resigned to become Secretary of the [[Legation]] for [[William Pinkney]]. He served in this role during Pinkney's appointment as [[United States Ambassador to Russia|Minister to Russia]] and during a diplomatic mission in [[Naples]]. King was 24 years old when he was first elected to Congress. He had not reached the constitutional age of 25 when his term began, but the Twelfth Congress did not convene until November 4, 1811, at which point he was sworn in to the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]].<ref>{{cite book|title = The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts|last = Martis|first = Kenneth C.|year = 1982|publisher = Macmillan Publishing Company|location = New York}}</ref>

When he returned to the United States in 1818, King joined the westward expansion of cotton cultivation into the Deep South, purchasing property at what would later be known as "King's Bend" between present-day [[Selma, Alabama|Selma]] and [[Cahaba, Alabama|Cahaba]] on the [[Alabama River]] in [[Dallas County, Alabama|Dallas County]]. The area was part of the newly formed [[Alabama Territory]], which had been recently separated from [[Mississippi]]. He developed a large cotton [[plantations in the American South|plantation]] based on slave labor and named it "Chestnut Hill." King and his relatives formed one of the state's largest [[slavery|slaveholding]] families, collectively owning as many as 500 people.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 28, 2018 |title=The rich history of Williams Rufus King |url=https://www.clintonnc.com/features/lifestyle/27144/the-rich-history-of-williams-rufus-king |access-date=2026-03-21 |website=Sampson Independent |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sears |first=Kelton |date=August 22, 2014 |title=King County was named after William Rufus DeVane King in 1852—one year |url=https://www.seattleweekly.com/2014/08/21/king-county-was-named-after-william-rufus-devane-king-in-1852-one-year/ |access-date=2026-03-21 |website=Seattle Weekly |language=en}}</ref>

King was a delegate to the convention that organized the [[History of Alabama|Alabama state government]]. After Alabama was [[Admission to the Union|admitted]] as the 22nd state in 1819, he was elected by the [[Alabama Legislature|State Legislature]] as a [[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republican]] to the [[United States Senate]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=William Rufus Devane King {{!}} EBSCO Research Starters |url=https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/william-rufus-devane-king |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=www.ebsco.com |language=en}}</ref>

King aligned politically with [[Andrew Jackson]], and was re-elected to the Senate as a [[Jacksonian democracy|Jacksonian]] in 1822, 1828, 1834, and 1841, serving from December 14, 1819, until his resignation on April 15, 1844. During the period from March to April 1824, King received a single vote at the [[Democratic-Republican Party]] caucus to be the party's candidate for the office of vice president of the United States in the upcoming [[1824 United States presidential election|1824 presidential election]]. He served as [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate]] during the [[Twenty-fourth United States Congress|24th]] through [[Twenty-seventh United States Congress|27th]] Congresses. King was Chairman of the Senate [[U.S. Senate Committee on Public Lands|Committee on Public Lands]] and the [[U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce|Committee on Commerce]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=U.S. Senate: William R. King |url=https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/fine-art/sculpture/22_00013_000.htm#:~:text=He%20was%20elected%20to%20the,pro%20tempore%20for%20seven%20years. |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=www.senate.gov}}</ref>

King was appointed [[United States Ambassador to France|Minister to France]], serving from 1844 to 1846. After his return, he resumed Senate service, first by appointment and then by election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of [[Arthur P. Bagby]]. He held his seat from July 1, 1848, until his resignation on December 20, 1852, due to ill health and his election as vice president of the United States.<ref name=":1" />

During the debates leading up to the [[Compromise of 1850]], King supported the Senate [[gag rule]] against debate on antislavery petitions and opposed proposals to abolish slavery in the [[District of Columbia]], which Congress administered.<ref name="alher">{{cite journal |year=2003 |author=Daniel Fate Brooks |title=The Faces of William R. King |journal=Alabama Heritage |publisher=University of Alabama, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama Department of Archives and History |volume=69 |issue=Summer |pages=14–23 |url=http://www.havana-mobile.com/AH_69_William_Rufus_King.pdf |access-date=May 3, 2013 |archive-date=March 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321051710/http://www.havana-mobile.com/AH_69_William_Rufus_King.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> King supported slavery, arguing that the [[Constitution of the United States|Constitution]] protected the institution of slavery in both the Southern states and the [[Territories of the United States|federal territories]]. He opposed both [[abolitionism in the United States|abolitionist]] efforts to abolish slavery in the territories and [[Fire-Eaters|Fire-Eater]] calls for Southern [[secession]].<ref name="senate.gov">{{cite web |title=U.S. Senate: William Rufus King, 13th Vice President (1853) |url=https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/vice-president/VP_William_R_King.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618172025/https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/vice-president/VP_William_R_King.htm |archive-date=2020-06-18 |access-date=2020-06-23 |website=www.senate.gov}}</ref>

On July 11, 1850, two days after President [[Zachary Taylor]] died, King was appointed Senate [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|President pro tempore]]. When [[Millard Fillmore]] became president, the vice presidency was vacant, making King first in the [[United States presidential line of succession|line of succession]] under the law in effect. He also served as Chairman of the [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Senate Committee on Foreign Relations]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

== Relationship with James Buchanan ==
[[File:JamesBuchanan crop.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[James Buchanan]], 15th [[president of the United States]] (served 1857–1861). He shared a [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] boardinghouse with his friend and colleague, William R. King.]]

Some historians and biographers have argued that King may have been [[homosexual]] or that his relationship with [[James Buchanan]] was romantic, including [[Jean H. Baker]].<ref>Jean H. Baker, [https://books.google.com/books?id=wQeVkzfTJcEC&q=communion James Buchanan: The American Presidents Series: The 15th President, 1857–1861], 2004, page 26</ref> The claim has also been supported by Shelley Ross, [[James W. Loewen]], and [[Robert P. Watson]]. The argument centers on his close relationship with President James Buchanan. Buchanan and King lived together in a Washington boardinghouse and attended social functions together from 1834 to 1844. Buchanan referred to the relationship as a "communion."<ref name="ReferenceB">Robert Watson, [https://books.google.com/books?id=A6LRVg0kn28C ''Affairs of State: The untold story of presidential love sex and scandal, 1789-1900''], Plymouth, 2012</ref> The two often attended official functions. Contemporaries noted the closeness of their relationship. [[Andrew Jackson]] mockingly called them "Miss Nancy" and "Aunt Fancy" (the former being a 19th-century euphemism for an effeminate man<ref>''The Wordsworth Book of Euphemisms'' by Judith S. Neaman and Carole G. Silver (Wordsworth Editions Ltd., Hertfordshire)</ref>), while Representative [[Aaron V. Brown]] referred to King as Buchanan's "better half."<ref>Jean H. Baker, [https://books.google.com/books?id=wQeVkzfTJcEC James Buchanan: The American Presidents Series: The 15th President, 1857–1861], 2004, page 75</ref>

However, historian Lewis Saum argued that customs and expressions in the mid-19th century differed from those of the present, and that "Miss Nancy" was "a fairly common designation for people who wore clean clothes and had good manners." He also noted that Brown was a political rival of King. Loewen described Buchanan and King as "Siamese twins".<ref>Lewis Saum, Pacific Northwest Quarterly, University of Washington, 2001.</ref>

Sol Barzman, a biographer of vice presidents, wrote that King's "fastidious habits and conspicuous intimacy with the bachelor Buchanan gave rise to some cruel jibes." Buchanan adopted King's mannerisms and romanticized southern culture. Both had strong political ambitions, and in 1844, they planned to run together for president and vice president.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> They spent some time apart while King was on overseas missions in France, and their letters remain cryptic and do not reveal any personal feelings. 

In May 1844, Buchanan wrote to Cornelia Roosevelt: <blockquote>I am now 'solitary and alone', having no companion in the house with me. I have gone a wooing to several gentlemen, but have not succeeded with any one of them. I feel that it is not good for man to be alone, and [I] should not be astonished to find myself married to some old maid who can nurse me when I am sick, provide good dinners for me when I am well, and not expect from me any very ardent or romantic affection.</blockquote> After King died on April 18, 1853, at age 67, Buchanan described him as "among the best, the purest, and most consistent public men I have known".<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

Baker concluded that, while some of their correspondence was destroyed by family members, the length and intimacy of the surviving letters illustrate "the affection of a special friendship" between King and Buchanan, with no way to determine whether it was a romantic relationship.<ref>[[Jean H. Baker]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=KoTpWjUsP1sC&pg=PA26 James Buchanan: The American Presidents Series: The 15th President, 1857–1861], 2004, pp. 25-26.</ref>

== Vice presidency and death (1853) ==
The [[1852 Democratic National Convention]] was held at the [[Maryland Institute College of Art|Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts]] in [[Baltimore]]. [[Franklin Pierce]] was nominated for president, and King was nominated for vice president.

{{anchor|Death}}Pierce and King defeated the [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] candidates, [[Winfield Scott]] and [[William Alexander Graham]]. Because King was ill with tuberculosis and had traveled to [[Cuba]] to recover, he was unable to be in Washington to take the oath of office on March 4, 1853. By a special act of [[United States Congress|Congress]] passed on March 2,<ref>32nd Congress, Sess. 2, Chapter 93, [https://govtrackus.s3.amazonaws.com/legislink/pdf/stat/10/STATUTE-10-Pg180.pdf 10 Stat. 180]</ref> he was allowed to take the oath outside the United States and was sworn in on March 24, 1853, near [[Matanzas]], by the U.S. consul to Cuba, [[William L. Sharkey]].<ref name="senate.gov"/><ref name="harpers">{{cite book|title=Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History|page=195|editor=Benson Lossing|publisher=[[Harper & Brothers]]|year=1907|access-date=July 15, 2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1hg-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA195}}</ref><ref name="aoc-vp">{{cite web|title=Vice Presidential Inaugurations|publisher=Architect of the Capitol|access-date=July 15, 2013|url=http://www.aoc.gov/nations-stage/vice-president-inaugurations|archive-date=May 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522024507/http://www.aoc.gov/nations-stage/vice-president-inaugurations|url-status=live}}</ref> King was the first and, to date, only vice president or president of the United States to take the oath of office on foreign soil.<ref>{{Cite web |title=William Rufus King sworn in as Vice President in Havana, Cuba {{!}} House Divided |url=https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/11657 |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu}}</ref>

Shortly afterward, King returned to Chestnut Hill. He died of tuberculosis on April 18, 1853, two days after his arrival, at age 67. He was interred in a vault on the plantation and later reburied in [[Old Live Oak Cemetery]] in [[Selma, Alabama|Selma]].<ref>{{cite web| last=Bennett| first=Jim| title=Alabamians With National Aspirations| work=JCHA Newsletter| date=April 2014| url=http://www.jeffcohistory.com/newsletter_Apr_14_pg3.html| publisher=Jefferson County Historical Association| location=Birmingham, Alabama| access-date=June 1, 2018| archive-date=June 2, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180602192509/http://www.jeffcohistory.com/newsletter_Apr_14_pg3.html| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25688-25689). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.</ref> King never carried out any duties of the office.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Oxford Guide to the United States Government|editor1=Patrick, John J. |editor2=Pious, Richard M. |editor3=Ritchie, Donald A.|year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordguidetouni00john/page/363 363]|isbn=978-0-19-514273-0 |access-date=June 24, 2013|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordguidetouni00john|url-access=registration|quote=king, william.}}</ref>

Following King's death, the office of vice president was vacant until [[John C. Breckinridge]] was inaugurated with President [[James Buchanan]] in March 1857.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="150px">
File:Chestnut Hill King's Bend Alabama.jpg|Engraving of Chestnut Hill, published in the ''Illustrated News'' (New York) on April 30, 1853, following King's death. The house was destroyed by fire during the 1920s.
File:Crypt of William R. King.jpg|Crypt of William R. King in Live Oak Cemetery, Selma, Alabama.
</gallery>

== Legacy and honors ==
[[File:William R. D. King Vice President.jpg|thumb|right|[[Frontispiece (book)|Frontispiece]] of book of memorial addresses published after King's death]]
In 1852, the [[Oregon Territorial Legislature]] named [[King County, Washington|King County]] for him. The county became part of [[Washington Territory]] the following year and later part of the state of [[Washington (state)|Washington]] in 1889. In 1985, the King County government amended its designation and logo to honor [[Civil Rights Movement|civil rights]] leader [[Martin Luther King Jr.]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Motion No. 6461|url=https://www.kingcounty.gov/elected/executive/equity-social-justice/mlk/other-resources/motion-6461.aspx|publisher=King County, WA|access-date=29 May 2018|archive-date=30 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180530035325/https://www.kingcounty.gov/elected/executive/equity-social-justice/mlk/other-resources/motion-6461.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> The change became official on April 19, 2005, when Governor [[Christine Gregoire]] signed into law Senate Bill 5332, effective July 24, 2005.<ref>{{cite web|title=State law changed to rename King County|url=http://your.kingcounty.gov/exec/news/2005/04/19mlkjrCounty.htm|publisher=King County, Washington|access-date=11 December 2013|archive-date=18 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140418072934/http://your.kingcounty.gov/exec/news/2005/04/19mlkjrCounty.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonvotes.org/2005-SB-5332|title=2005 Senate Bill 5332: Honoring the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr|website=WashingtonVotes.org|language=en|access-date=2018-09-25|archive-date=2021-07-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726074022/https://www.washingtonvotes.org/2005-SB-5332|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://apps2.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5332&Year=2005&BillNumber=5332&Year=2005|title=Bill Information, SB 5332 - 2005-06 - Honoring the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.|website=Washington State Legislature|access-date=2018-09-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926020139/http://apps2.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5332&Year=2005&BillNumber=5332&Year=2005|archive-date=2018-09-26|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2005-06/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/Senate/5332.SL.pdf#page=1 ENGROSSED SENATE BILL 5332] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302021802/http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2005-06/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/Senate/5332.SL.pdf#page=1 |date=2021-03-02 }}, 59th [[Washington State Legislature|Legislature of the State of Washington]], 2005 Regular Session.</ref>

The King Residence Quadrangle at his alma mater, [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]], is named for him.

An 1830 portrait of King is held in New East Hall in the Philanthropic Chambers of the [[Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies]], a debating society which he had joined during college.

King was a co-founder of [[Selma, Alabama]], which he named after the [[Ossian]]ic poem ''The Songs of Selma.''<ref name="alher" /> After his death, city officials and some of King's family wanted to move his body to Selma. Other family members preferred that his body remain at Chestnut Hill. In 1882, the Selma City Council appointed a committee to select a new plot for King's body. His remains were reinterred in the city's [[Live Oak Cemetery]] under a white marble mausoleum erected by the city.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jaffee|first=Al|title=The Ghoulish Book of Weird Records|publisher=Signet|year=1979|pages=136–140|isbn=0-451-08614-7}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commonscat|William King}}
{{CongBio|K000217}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070810123804/http://www.alabamamoments.state.al.us/sec09.html Who is William Rufus King?]
* ''[https://archive.org/search.php?query=William%20Rufus%20King%20AND%20mediatype%3Atexts Obituary addresses on the occasion of the death of the Hon. William R. King, of Alabama, vice-president of the United States : delivered in the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, eighth of December, 1853]''

{{s-start}}
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{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[List of United States representatives from North Carolina|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br>from [[North Carolina's 5th congressional district]]|years=1811–1816}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Charles Hooks]]}}

{{s-par|us-sen}}
{{s-new|seat}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of United States senators from Alabama|U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Alabama]]|years=1819–1844|alongside=[[John Williams Walker]], [[William Kelly (senator)|William Kelly]], [[Henry H. Chambers]], [[Israel Pickens]], [[John McKinley]], [[Gabriel Moore]], [[Clement Comer Clay|Clement Clay]], [[Arthur P. Bagby]]}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[List of United States senators from Alabama|U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Alabama]]|years=1848–1852|alongside=[[Dixon Hall Lewis|Dixon Lewis]], [[Benjamin Fitzpatrick]], [[Jeremiah Clemens]]}}
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{{s-dip}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[List of United States Democratic Party presidential tickets|nominee]] for Vice President of the United States|years=[[1852 United States presidential election|1852]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John C. Breckinridge]]}}
{{S-end}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:King, William R.}}
[[Category:William R. King| ]]
[[Category:1786 births]]
[[Category:1853 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century vice presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:19th-century American diplomats]]
[[Category:Alabama Democratic-Republicans]]
[[Category:Alabama Democrats]]
[[Category:People from Sampson County, North Carolina]]
[[Category:James Buchanan]]
[[Category:Vice presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Vice presidents of the United States who owned slaves]]
[[Category:Democratic Party vice presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Pierce administration cabinet members]]
[[Category:Democratic-Republican Party United States representatives from North Carolina]]
[[Category:Democratic-Republican Party United States senators from Alabama]]
[[Category:Jacksonian United States senators from Alabama]]
[[Category:Democratic Party United States senators from Alabama]]
[[Category:Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate]]
[[Category:Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to France]]
[[Category:1852 United States vice-presidential candidates]]
[[Category:Democratic Party (United States) vice presidential nominees]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives]]
[[Category:People from Clinton, North Carolina]]
[[Category:People from Dallas County, Alabama]]
[[Category:American Freemasons]]
[[Category:19th-century owners of plantations in the United States]]
[[Category:North Carolina Democratic-Republicans]]
[[Category:North Carolina lawyers]]
[[Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni]]
[[Category:Tuberculosis deaths in Alabama]]
[[Category:19th-century deaths from tuberculosis]]
[[Category:United States senators who owned slaves]]
[[Category:United States representatives who owned slaves]]
[[Category:Historical figures with ambiguous or disputed sexuality]]
[[Category:19th-century United States senators]]
[[Category:19th-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly]]
[[Category:19th-century United States representatives]]
[[Category:Owners of plantations in Alabama]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]