Tyler, John, 1790-1862
Biographical Note
John Tyler, tenth president of the United States, was born in Charles City County, Virginia in 1790, the son of John and Mary Armistead Tyler. Admitted to the Virginia bar in 1809, Tyler established a practice in his native county. He was elected the the Virginia House of Delegates in 1811. In 1813 he married Letitia Christian (also born in 1790), and the couple would have eight children. Elected to Congress in 1816, Tyler served until 1821, then returned to the Virginia House of Delegates, then was elected Virginia governor in 1824, then served in the U. S. Senate from 1827 until 1836, when he resigned. Elected vice-president as William Henry Harrison's running mate in 1840, Tyler became president soon after taking office, following Harrison's death on April 4, 1841. Letitia Christian Tyler died the following year, and in 1844, Tyler married Julia Gardiner, making her First Lady of the United States. John Tyler died in 1862.