Honorable James Buchanan (April 23, 1791 - June 1, 1868), c. 1865. Photo by Matthew Brady. . James Buchanan, who was born two hundred and twenty-six years ago today and served as President of the United States from 1857 to 1861, has a distinct place in American history for a number of reasons: he is, to date, the only president from Pennsylvania; he is, to date, the last former Secretary of State to serve as president; he was the last president born in the eighteenth century; and, due in large part to his alienation of both sides of the slavery divide and the South's secession at the end of his term, Buchanan consistently is ranked among the worst presidents in American history. . Buchanan also is the only American president to remain a lifelong bachelor; on this point, an increasing number of historians accept what many of Buchanan's contemporaries understood: James Buchanan is, to date, America's only openly gay president. . Buchanan, who was engaged for a short period before his fiancée ended the engagement, had an intimate relationship with William Rufus King, who died while serving as Vice President to Franklin Pierce, Buchanan's predecessor. Andrew Jackson referred derisively to King and Buchanan—who shared a boardinghouse for ten years, attended social functions together, and were never known to entertain women—as “Miss Nancy” and “Aunt Fancy,” while Postmaster General Aaron V. Brown referred to King as Buchanan's “better half.” For his part, King referred to the relationship as a “communion.” . In 1844, when King departed America to serve as Minister to France, Buchanan wrote to a confidant, “I am now ‘solitary and alone,’ having no companion in the house with me. I have gone a-wooing to several gentlemen, but have not succeeded with any one of them. I feel that it is not good for man to be alone, and [I] should not be astonished to find myself married to some old maid who can nurse me when I am sick...and not expect from me any very ardent or romantic affection.” . James Buchanan died of respiratory failure on June 1, 1868; he was seventy-seven. #lgbthistory #HavePrideInHistory #JamesBuchanan #AuntFancy
