Term: 14th President of the United States (1853-1857)
Vice President: William R. D. King (1853)
Born: November 23, 1804, Hillsborough (now Hillsboro), New Hampshire
Nickname: "Young Hickory of the Granite Hills"
Education: Bowdoin College (graduated 1824)
Religion: Episcopalian
Marriage: November 19, 1834, to Jane Means Appleton (1806-1863)
Children: Franklin (1836); Frank Robert (1839-1843); Benjamin (1841-1853)
Career: Lawyer, Public Official
Political Party: Democrat
Died: October 8, 1869, Concord, New Hampshire
Buried: Old North Cemetery, Concord, New Hampshire
Franklin Pierce Trivia:
Graduated Bowdoin College (1824). In 1853 the Gadsden Purchase settled boundary disputes with Mexico. In 1854 the Kansas Nebraska Act increased the conflict between pro and anti slavery settlers and required the introduction of federal troops into Kansas in an effort to end the fighting. Because of religious considerations Pierce affirmed rather than swore the Presidential Oath of Office. He gave his inaugural address from memory, without the aid of notes. He installed the first central heating system in the White House.