| Timeline |
| 1777 |
Born 12 April in Virginia |
| 1781 |
Father dies |
| 1791 |
Mother moves to Kentucky
|
| 1792 |
Goes to work for George Wythe |
| 1796 |
Studies law under Robert Brooke |
| 1797 |
Admitted to the bar, opens practice in Lexington, KY |
| 1799 |
Marries Lucretia Hart |
| 1803 |
Elected to state legislature |
| 1805 |
Law professor at Transylvania University |
| 1806 |
Sent to U.S. Senate |
| 1807 |
Elected to state legislature and Speaker of the House |
| 1809 |
Elected to U.S. Senate |
| 1811 |
Elected to U.S. House of Representatives and Speaker of the House |
| 1814 |
Peace Commissioner at Ghent |
| 1816 |
Presides at formation of American Colonization Society |
| 1821 |
Authors the second Missouri Compromise |
| 1824 |
Appointed Secretary of State under John Quincy Adams |
| 1828 |
Rejects offer of appointment to Supreme Court |
| 1829 |
Returns to Lexington to farm and practice law |
| 1831 |
Elected U.S. Senate; nominated for Presidency |
| 1832 |
Authors Compromise Tariff Act |
| 1836 |
Elected President of American Colonization Society |
| 1842 |
Resigns as U.S. Senator |
| 1844 |
Nominated for Presidency |
| 1849 |
Returns to U.S. Senate |
| 1850 |
Authors Compromise of 1850 |
| 1851 |
Resigns from U.S. Senate |
| 1852 |
Dies 29 June in Washington D.C. |
