David Atchison, 11th and a Half President of the United States?

The fascinating tale of the "one-day Presidency" they don't teach you about in school

When it comes to U.S history, the 19th Century is full of aggressively forgettable Presidents. To quote the famed Simpsons song, “There’s [Zachary] Taylor, there’s [John] Tyler, there’s [Millard] Fillmore and there’s [Rutherford B.] Hayes, there’s William Henry Harrison (I DIED IN 30 Days!”)”

For the most part, these Presidents’ main claim to fame is serving as obscure answers to Jeopardy questions (or is it obscure questions to Jeopardy answers?)

But even the most avid of trivia buffs will likely miss the one 19th Century President that even the most comprehensive AP U.S. History class never told you about.

I’m talking about David Rice Atchison, America’s 11th-and-a-half President.

Not to be confused with Quentin Trembley, the fictional 8th and a half President of the United States in the Gravity Falls universe.

The “Presidency” of David Atchison–in which he took no oath of office, issued no executive orders, and lasted a mere 24 hours–was so uneventful that most scholars say it never happened.

David Rice Atchison. Photo by Mathew Brady, between 1844-1860. Prints and Photographs Division.

But that hasn’t stopped others from embracing the legend of the one-day presidency–particularly the state of Missouri from which Atchison hailed.

A plaque affixed to a statue unveiled in 1928 in Plattsburg, Missouri, reads, "David Rice Atchison, 1807–1886, President of United States One Day.”

March 4, 1849–The Day David Atchison (Allegedly) Became President

So who was David Atchison, and on what basis does this plaque claim he served as President-for-a-day?

Well, the legend of the one-day Athchison Presidency was fueled by the most banal of circumstances–the calendar.

You see, before the ratification of the 20th Amendment–which sets inauguration day for January 20–the four-year terms of president and vice president began and ended on March 4.

In 1849, as President James K. Polk concluded his single term in office, incoming President Zachary Taylor refused to take the oath of office on account of March 4 falling on a Sunday. Opting to observe the Christian Sabbath, President-elect Taylor pushed the swearing-in ceremony to the following day.

The inauguration of Gen. Zachary Taylor. 1849. Library of Congress

As explained back in 2024 by the Washington Post, here’s where things get interesting:

Atchison served as president pro tempore of the Senate more than a dozen times while Polk was in office. At the time, the president pro tempore served as a substitute for the vice president when the latter was absent from Congress, and [under the Presidential Succession Act of 1792[ he was third in line to the presidency. (The speaker of the House is third in line today.)

Two days before Polk left office, his vice president, George Dallas, ended his term by taking a leave from the Senate session. Atchison was elected president pro tempore in his place.

Polk’s term technically expired at noon that Sunday, even though indications are he was out of the White House before then. In theory, with Taylor not sworn in until Monday, Atchison would have become president at that point.

The whole article is worth a read.

Atchison himself had some fun with the whole episode. Given the all-night Senate session that seeped into the day in question, Atchison joked that the long evening might have caused him to sleep through his term. He also quipped that his one day “administration” was “the most honest” the country had ever seen.

This photo of David Rice Atchison (D-MO) was taken by photographer Mathew Brady at the U.S. Capitol in March 1849, the same month some have claimed he was president of the United States for one day.

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University

But in an 1880 letter, Atchinson set the record straight: he was never President, and he knew it:

“I never for a moment acted as President of the US, although I was President of the Senate, at the expiration of Mr. Polk’s term and inauguration of Genl Taylor yet for one moment did I ever consider that I was the legal President of the US, Genl Taylor was the legal Pres, & Millard Fillmore Vice President, either of whom had the legal right, to the Presidency although 31 hours elapsed between the egress of Mr. Polk and the taking of the oath by Genl Taylor.

In 1880, Atchison wrote in a letter, “I never for a moment acted as President of the U.S.” At least I assume that’s what it says, because I can’t read what this says. Shapell Manuscript Foundation

Despite Atchison’s denials, in the early 1900s, newspapers resurrected the story of the one-day Presidency. But as noted by the US Senate’s own government website, constitutional scholars do not take seriously the idea that Atchison was president for a day.

In 1925 historian George Haynes—an authority on the Senate—dismissed the claims of Atchison’s presidency. The clearest indication that Atchison was not president, he noted, was the fact that Atchison’s existing term as senator and, more importantly, as president pro tempore, had ended at noon on March 4. [Contrary to the claims by Atchison’s 1880 letter] The position of president pro tempore was, in fact, vacant. Atchison was not elected to the position again until the Senate’s special session convened at noon on March 5. Minutes later the president and vice president took their oaths.

As noted by the Washington Post, things were done a little differently the next time March 4 fell on a Sunday:

The Polk-Taylor transition did leave a legacy. The next time the March 4 Inauguration Day fell on a Sunday came in 1877, a few years before Atchison sought to dispel the notion that he’d been president. But he was clearly top of mind, as officials had incoming president Rutherford B. Hayes take the oath of office on Saturday, a day before Ulysses S. Grant’s term ended, giving the country at least the appearance of two presidents under oath at the same time.

“It would make more sense if he did it on a private ceremony on Sunday,” [Daniel S. Holt, an associate historian at the U.S. Senate Historical Office] said. “But nobody wanted to do anything on the Sabbath, so he took the oath on Saturday. You can’t be president until the one term ends, so who knows if that even made any difference.”

Atchison died on January 26, 1886 at the age of 78– living nearly 40 years longer than James K. Polk (who died three months after his term ended) and Zachary Taylor (who died two years into his term) .

Atchison was buried at Greenlawn Cemetery in Plattsburg, Missouri. His grave marker reads "President of the United States for One Day."

Roughly 40 miles to the west of his grave is the town of Atchison, Kan., in Atchison County — both named after him. The town claims to have “the world’s smallest unofficial Presidential Library” in honor of Atchison.

While Atchison may or may not have been “president for a day,” by right of succession, he was vice president from April 18, 1853, until December 4, 1854, when President Franklin Pierce’s vice president, William R. King, died.

Alas, “Acting Vice President” just doesn’t have the same ring to it as “President of the United States for One Day.”