Millard Fillmore (1800 – 1874) was the 13th president of the United States (1850–1853), the last Whig president, and the last president not to be affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties. Fillmore was a lawyer from western New York state and served in the state legislature, before being elected as Zachary Taylor's vice president. After Taylor's death, he assumed the presidency . Fillmore served at the height of the "Crisis of 1850" over slavery, and supported the Compromise of 1850, which sought to placate both the north and the south, but ended up displeasing most. Fillmore was the first of a long line of late nineteenth century presidents, mostly lawyers, who acquired only modest wealth during their lives, were "distinctly middle class", and who spent most of their careers in public service.
