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James Buchanan- 15th President
Party: Democrat
Term: March 4, 1857 - March 3, 1861
Age at Inauguration: 65
Life Span: April 23, 1791 - June 1, 1868 [77]
Spouse: Bachelor, Hostess - Harriet Lane
Vice President: John Breckinridge

  • Mr. Buchanan was the first bachelor president, followed by Grover Cleveland in 1885
  • Buchanan remained a bachelor, while Cleveland married during his first term
  • At age 28 Buchanan was engaged to Ann Coleman, 23, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, but he broke-off the intended wedding in 1819
  • Coleman apparently committed suicide from an overdose of medication while on a trip to Philadelphia shortly thereafter
  • Buchanan appointed his niece, Harriet Lane, Hostess at the White House
  • The president announced in his inaugural speech that he would not consider a second term, therefore he was not nominated in 1960
  • During his administration South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union, leading to a division of North and South and eventual Civil War