Vice President of the United States

The Vice President of the United States is the second-highest executive official of the United States government, the person who is, in the words of Adlai Stevenson, "a heartbeat from the presidency." As first in the presidential line of succession, the Vice President becomes the new President of the United States upon the death, resignation, or removal by impeachment and subsequent conviction of the President. Eight Vice Presidents have assumed the Presidency upon the death of the President, and one upon the President's resignation.

Vice Presidential facts

Two Vice Presidents served under two different Presidents:

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• George Clinton under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison
• John C. Calhoun under John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson

Seven Vice Presidents have died in office:

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• George Clinton in 1812
• Elbridge Gerry in 1814
• William Rufus de Vane King in 1853
• Henry Wilson in 1875
• Thomas Andrews Hendricks in 1885
• Garret Augustus Hobart in 1899
• James Schoolcraft Sherman in 1912

Two Vice Presidents have resigned from office:

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• John C. Calhoun resigned in 1832 to take a seat in the Senate, having been chosen to fill a vacancy.
• Spiro Agnew resigned in 1973 upon pleading no contest to charges of accepting bribes while governor of Maryland.

Nine Vice Presidents succeeded to the Presidency:

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• John Tyler became President when William Harrison died a month into office.
• Millard Fillmore became President after Zachary Taylor died in office.
• Andrew Johnson became President when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.
• Chester A. Arthur became President after James Garfield was assassinated.
• Theodore Roosevelt became President after William McKinley was assassinated.
• Calvin Coolidge became President after Warren G. Harding died in office.
• Harry S. Truman became President after Franklin D. Roosevelt died in office.
• Lyndon Johnson became President after John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
• Gerald Ford became President after Richard Nixon resigned.

Of those who succeeded above, four would later be elected President in their own right:

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• Theodore Roosevelt
• Calvin Coolidge
• Harry S. Truman
• Lyndon Johnson

Gerald Ford was the only vice president who succeeded to the presidency and lose the next election for president.

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Five Vice Presidents did not succeed to the Presidency but were later elected President in their own right:

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• John Adams (1789-1797) was elected President in the 1796 election.
• Thomas Jefferson (1797-1801) was elected President in the 1800 election.
• Martin Van Buren (1833-1837) was elected President in the 1836 election.
• Richard Nixon (1953-1961) was elected President in the 1968 election.
• George H. W. Bush (1981-1989) was elected President in the 1988 election.

There have been three Vice Presidents who had the last name of Johnson:

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• Richard M Johnson (1837-1841)
• Andrew Johnson (1865)
• Lyndon Johnson (1961-1963)

Two Vice Presidents have officially acted as President due to presidential incapacity under the 25th Amendment:

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• George H. W. Bush acted as President for Ronald Reagan on July 13, 1985.
• Dick Cheney acted as President for George W. Bush on June 29, 2002.

There are currently five living former Vice Presidents:

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• Gerald Ford
• Walter Mondale
• George H.W. Bush
• Dan Quayle
• Al Gore

Of these, Ford and Bush later became President. All the others ran for the presidency unsuccessfully.

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