Taylor Dies in Office: Fillmore Becomes President
President Zachary Taylor died suddenly after sixteen months in office, likely from acute gastroenteritis, and Vice President Millard Fillmore assumed the presidency. Taylor's death removed the last obstacle to the Compromise of 1850, which his successor promptly signed into law. The deal temporarily averted civil war by admitting California as a free state while strengthening the Fugitive Slave Act.
July 9, 1850
176 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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