biography
| name: |
Johnson, Richard Mentor
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1780–1850)
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| biography:
| US vice-president and senator, born in Beargrass (now Louisville), Kentucky, USA. Raised on the frontier, he studied law and was admitted to the Kentucky bar in 1802. He served in the US House of Representatives (1807–19). He enlisted for the War of 1812 and took part in the Battle of the Thames (1813) in which he was wounded; his claim that he killed Tecumseh was never proven. He moved to the US Senate (1819–29) and then returned to the House (1829–37). Chosen by his long-time political sponsor Andrew Jackson to run for vice-president, he failed to get a majority of the electoral college votes and was elected by the Senate - the only vice-president so chosen. His term as the ninth vice-president, under Martin Van Buren (1837–41), was unremarkable and he retired to private life. |
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