Henry Clay

Henry Clay was born in Hanover County, Virginia, on April 12, 1777. His only formal education was three years at a small school. After his father died, his mother remarried and Clay moved to Richmond. His stepfather secured him a position with the clerk of the High Court of Chancery. Inspired, Clay began law studies in 1796, finished a year later, and quickly earned a reputation as a skillful lawyer. In 1797 Clay moved to Lexington, Kentucky.

• He was elected a U. S. senator for a short term in 1806–1807. He then returned to serve in the Kentucky legislature from 1808 to 1809. He served in the United States Senate from 1810 to 1811; from 1831 to 1842; and from 1849 to 1852. Clay had the distinction of also serving as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1811 to 1821 and from 1823 to 1825; he was Speaker of the House from 1811 to 1820.
• Clay served as a member of the Ghent Peace Commission.
• President John Quincy Adams appointed him Secretary of State from 1825 to 1829.
• He ran as the Whig nominee for President in 1832.
• Clay was author of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850.
• Henry Clay died on June 29, 1852, and was the first person to lie in state in the Rotunda.