Martin Van Buren (1782-1862)
8th President of the United States (1837-1841) & Founder of the Democratic Party
He was preceded in the Presidency by Andrew Jackson and after serving one term in office for the Democrats he was succeeded in 1841 by William Henry Harrison. His Vice-President throughout was Richard Mentor Johnson. He was born at Kinderhook, New York, and was nicknamed "Old Kinderhook" (O.K.). His first spoken words were in Dutch, but he was the first President of the United States to be born under the American flag and hence he is often referred to as "the first American president". He and his wife had five children (all sons), four of whom lived to adulthood.
