Hamlin, Hannibal (1809-1891), was Vice President of the United States from 1861 to 1865, during President Abraham Lincoln’s first term. Hamlin was a strong opponent of slavery.
From 1843 to 1847, Hamlin, then a Democrat, represented Maine in the U.S. House of Representatives. He represented the state as a U.S. senator from 1848 to 1857. In 1856, Hamlin joined the antislavery Republican Party. He was governor of Maine for a few weeks in 1857. But he returned to the Senate that year, serving from 1857 to 1861 and 1869 to 1881.
Lincoln dropped Hamlin as his running mate in 1864 and chose Andrew Johnson, a Union Democrat from Tennessee, to balance the Republican ticket. Hamlin was ambassador to Spain in 1881 and 1882.
Hamlin was born on Aug. 27, 1809, in Paris, Maine. He died on July 4, 1891. His statue represents Maine in Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C.
