Franklin pierce king gay

James Buchanan Jr. A member of the Democratic Party , he served as the United States Secretary of State and in both houses of Congress before becoming president. He served as Jackson's Minister to Russia, then won election as a senator from Pennsylvania. In , he accepted appointment as President James K. Polk 's Secretary of State. He was a major contender for his party's presidential nomination throughout the s and s and was finally nominated in , defeating incumbent President Franklin Pierce and Senator Stephen A.

Wikimedia Commons Was James Buchanan gay? Some point to his close relationship with William Rufus King as a good indication. While he was briefly engaged to a wealthy woman named Anne Coleman , the marriage never went through, and many people speculated that the attachment was based more on her significant wealth than any genuine affection. Coleman suspected Buchanan was having an affair, which led her to break off the engagement. She committed suicide a short time after and her father, never having approved of the couple, denied Buchanan permission to attend the funeral. He was the only U.

The surprisingly intimate nature of their personal and political relationship reveals how male friendship shaped the politics of America before the Civil War. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Although virtually unknown today, King was a southern politician and slaveholder who influenced Buchanan immensely.

By Lou Chibbaro Jr. He died of tuberculosis on April 18, , just 25 days after being sworn into office on March 24, , according an official biography of King prepared by the Office of the Historian of the U. Other historians have speculated that King holds yet another distinction — the likely status of being the first gay U. House of Representatives and the U. King served in the House of Representatives from North Carolina for six years beginning in and later served in the Senate from the newly created state of Alabama from , when he became U.