Martin Van Buren: First President Not Born a British Subject

Martin Van Buren, our 8^th president, was the first president born after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, and thus the first president not born a British subject. He was born on December 5, 1782, more than six years after July 4, 1776 when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve the Declaration of Independence, and split from Great Britain.

All of the previous seven U.S. presidents were born prior to July 4, 1776:

George Washington: February 22, 1732
John Adams: October 30, 1735
Thomas Jefferson: April 13, 1743
James Madison: March 16, 1751
James Monroe: April 28, 1758
John Quincy Adams: July 11, 1767
Andrew Jackson: March 15, 1767

But Van Buren was not the last U.S. president not born a British subject. William Henry Harrison, who only served one month as president before becoming the first president to die in office, was born on February 9, 1773. Harrison had just turned 68 less than a month before his inauguration. He was the oldest man to take the oath of office up until that time.

Beginning with John Tyler (10^th president) and later, all of our presidents were born after July 4, 1776.