Birth: Cove Gap, Pennsylvania, April 17, 1791

Ancestry: Scotch-Irish

Father: James Buchanan

Mother: Elizabeth Speer Buchanan

Brothers: William Speer Buchanan (1805-1826); George Washington Buchanan (1808-1832); Edward Young Buchanan (1811-1895)

Sisters: Mary Buchanan (1789-1791); Jane Buchanan (1793-1839); Maria Buchanan (1795-1849); Sarah Buchanan (1798-1825); Elizabeth Buchanan (1800-1801); Harriet Buchanan (1802-1839)

Religious Affiliation: Presbyterian

Education: Old Stone Academy; Dickinson College (1809)

Occupation Before Presidency: Lawyer

Prepresidential Offices: Member of Pennsylvania legislature; United States Congressman; Minister to Russia; United States Senator; Secretary of State; Minister to Great Britain

Inauguration Age: 65

Occupation After Presidency: Retired

Death: Lancaster, Pennsylvania, June 1, 1868

Place of Burial: Woodward Hill Cemetery, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Inauguration: March 4, 1857; The Capitol, Washington, D.C.

Vice President: John C. Breckinridge

Secretary of State: Lewis Cass; Jeremiah S. Black (from December 17, 1860)

Secretary of the Treasury: Howell Cobb; Philip F. Thomas (from December 12, 1860); John A. Dix (from January 15, 1861)

Secretary of War: John B. Floyd; Joseph Holt (from January 18, 1861)

Attorney General: Jeremiah S. Black; Edwin M. Stanton (from December 20, 1860)

Postmaster General: Aaron V. Brown; Joseph Holt (from March 14, 1859); Horatio King (from February 12, 1861)

Secretary of the Navy: Issac Toucey

Secretary of the Interior: Jacob Thompson

Supreme Court Appointment: Nathan Clifford (1858)

Congress #35 (December 7, 1857-March 3, 1859):

Senate: 39 Democrats; 20 Republicans; 5 Others

House: 131 Democrats; 92 Republicans; 14 Others

Congress #36 (December 5, 1859-March 3, 1861):

Senate: 38 Democrats; 20 Republicans; 5 Others

House: 113 Republicans; 101 Democrats; 23 Others

States Admitted: Minnesota (1858); Oregon (1859); Kansas (1861)