Richard Mentor Johnson

Richard Mentor Johnson (1780-1850), ninth vice president of the United States (1837-1841).

Johnson was born in Bryants Station (now part of Louisville), Kentucky, and educated at Transylvania University (now Transylvania College). He practiced law and in 1804 entered public life as a member of the Kentucky legislature, later serving in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was a colonel in the War of 1812 and, according to traditional accounts, killed the Native American chief Tecumseh in the Battle of the Thames. Johnson was a U.S. Senator from 1819 to 1829, when he again became a member of the House, serving until 1837. In the presidential election of 1836, he was the running mate of the Democratic nominee, Martin Van Buren. Because no vice-presidential candidate won a majority in the electoral college that year, the contest was thrown into the Senate, which elected Johnson to the vice-presidency in March 1837. With Van Buren, he unsuccessfully sought reelection in 1840.