LAST EDITED ON 06-11-12 AT 08:00 PM (EST)And Philadelphia.
William R. King, 13th vice president of the United States, elected with President Franklin Pierce. Why he agreed to appear on the ticket is anyone's guess, he knew he had TB (Then a terminal condition though people could live many years with it) and had chosen to retire at the end of his Senate term.
On Inauguration Day, March 4, 1853, King was in Cuba receiving medical treatment, or rather just enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. He officially became vice president though he wasn't in Washington DC and couldn't take the oath of office. He did take the oath of office 20 days later in Cuba, after Congress had passed a special bill to permit it. He remained in Cuba awhile longer then returned to his home in Alabama, where he died on April 18, 1853, having been vice president for 45 days having not been in Washington DC for any of it.
King was an influential politician in his day and did much to cause the Civil War, today he is mostly remembered for having been the rumored lover of James Buchanan, with whom he had shared a house in Washington DC for many years.