David Rice Atchison
Born: August 11, 1807
Birthplace: Lexington, Kentucky
Father: William Atchison Sr. 1780 – 1854
(Buried: Greenlawn Cemetery, Plattsburg, Missouri)
Mother: Catherine "Kitty" Allen 1786 – 1859
(Buried: Greenlawn Cemetery, Plattsburg, Missouri)
Wife: Lucinda Jane Diller 1832 – 1871
Political Party: Democratic Party
Occupation before War:
Attorney and Planter in Liberty, Missouri
1834: Missouri State Representative
1838: Missouri State Representative
1838: Major General in the Missouri State Militia during Mormon War
1841: Judge of Platte County, Missouri Circuit Court
1843 – 1855: United States Senator from Missouri
1843 – 1845: Member of Senate Militia Committee
1845 – 1847: Chairman of Senate Militia Committee
1845 – 1849: Member of Senate Indian Affairs Committee
1845 – 1847: Member of Senate Pensions Committee
1846 – 1849: President Pro Tempore of United States Senate
1847 – 1853: Chairman of Senate Indian Affairs Committee
1849 – 1851: Ranking Member of Senate Foreign Affairs Committee
1849: Known to have been acting President of United States for 1 day.
1851: Allied with Whigs to defeat U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton
He asked U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas to introduce Kansas Nebraska Act.
1854: Unsuccessful Candidate for reelection as U.S. Senator
1855 – 1886: Attorney in Liberty, Missouri
Supporter of First Transcontinental Railroad to have central route
Civil War Career:
Supporter of Governor Claiborne Jackson
Major General of Missouri State Guard
Helped actively recruit members for Missouri State Guard
1861: Served with Sterling Price in the summer campaign
1861: Successful Commander at the Battle of Liberty, Missouri
1862: Resigned from the Missouri State Guard over strategy issues
Occupation after War:
1855 – 1865: Attorney in Liberty, Missouri
1865 – 1886: Retired to his farm near Gower, Missouri
1886: His retirement cottage burned to the ground before his death
Died: January 26, 1886
Place of Death: Gower, Missouri
Age at time of Death: 78 years old
Burial Place: Greenlawn Cemetery, Plattsburg, Missouri
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