While no Alabamian has been elected president of the United States, one has come close achieving the rank of vice president. Elected in 1852, William Rufus King became the highest ranking elected official from Alabama. Unfortunately, his poor health at the time caused his untimely death not long after being sworn in to office in 1853. And even though King was not a native of Alabama he was instrumental in its formation as a state.

King was born in North Carolina on April 7, 1786. His parents, William and Margaret King, were prominent planters who owned a large plantation in Sampson County, North Carolina. Because of his parents’ social stature, King was the recipient of an excellent education, first attending the University of North Carolina in 1801 and then studying law under a well-known Fayetteville lawyer in 1804. After studying law and politics under William Duffy, King established his own law practice in Clinton, North Carolina in 1808.

Almost immediately after initiating his law practice, King entered the political arena and was elected to state office in the North Carolina House of Commons. Later in 1811, King was elected to the United States House of Representatives. His political career advanced to include an international appointment when he became a member of William Pinckney’s staff. Pinckney had previously been appointed the United States minister to Russia and the Kingdom of the Two Sicily’s. King spent a year in Europe before returning to North Carolina in 1817 where he set his sights on moving west to establish himself among the planters in the future state of Alabama. King subsequently bought land on the Alabama River, in what is now Dallas County, and was instrumental in growing the community that became Selma.

King’s influence in Dallas increased and he once again entered politics. He was chosen as one of the drafters of the new state’s constitution in 1819 and was also elected to the United States Senate. Throughout the 1830s and 1840s, King continued to serve as a senator from Alabama. He also began to be considered for higher office. He soon found himself involved in the 1840 presidential race as a potential vice presidential candidate. He also received some attention in 1844 but the campaign faded as others among the democrat party had wider support on a national level.

In the mid-1840s, King once again was called on to handle international relations for the United States. President John Tyler appointed King as the United States minister to France after which he returned to his life as an Alabama planter and sought yet another term in the U.S. senate. Even though he lost in the 1847 election he was appointed to a senate post after another Alabama senator, Arthur Bagly, was appointed minister to Russia in 1848.

As his last political campaign gained momentum in 1852, ill health took its toll on King. The vice presidential seat became Kings' as he and Franklin Pierce received the democrat nomination and won the presidential election that year. Sadly enough, King never enjoyed his ultimate achievement. He was sworn in as the U.S. vice president while trying to recuperate from a worsening case of tuberculosis. He had taken refuge in the warm climate of Cubs but the illness could not be stalled. Fearing his imminent demise, King left the island to return home to Alabama where he died on April 18, 1853.