King, William Rufus Devane (1786-1853), was elected vice president of the United States in 1852 to serve under President Franklin Pierce. King was seriously ill at the time. By special act of Congress, he was permitted to take his oath of inauguration before an American consul in Havana, Cuba, where he was trying to recover from the illness. He died six weeks later, without ever performing the duties of vice president.
King served in the United States House of Representatives from 1811 to 1816 as a Democrat from North Carolina, and in the U.S. Senate as a Democrat from Alabama from 1819 to 1844, and from 1848 to 1852. He also served as minister to France from 1844 to 1846. King was born on April 7, 1786, in Sampson County, North Carolina. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1803 and practiced law. He died on April 18, 1853.
