11th United States President, Tennessee Governor, U.S. Congressman. He was born on a 250-acre farm in Pineville, North Carolina, moving to Columbia, Tennessee at age eleven. After a mere two years of formal education, he returned to North Carolina to become an honor student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Upon graduation, he studied law in Nashville under Felix Grundy and then established a law practice in Columbia. During his first year in the Tennessee Legislature, he was introduced to Sarah Childress by Andrew Jackson. A courtship ensued culminating in marriage on January 1, 1824. His Congressional career lasted fourteen years including two terms as the 13th Speaker of the House. Polk returned home and successfully ran as a candidate for Governor of Tennessee, becoming the state's 9th Governor. After a two-year term, he failed to be reelected in 1841 and 1843. Shrewdly, he did not quit politics. His opportunity to revive his career came at the Democratic convention where he became a compromise presidential candidate and went on to win the White House. The couple arrived in Washington for the presidential inauguration by boat and his wife set the stage for an austere administration. There was to be no dancing, singing, or alcohol permitted in the Polk White House and the Sabbath would be strictly observed. However, his administration was froth with achievement. He expanded the borders of the United States to the Pacific Ocean while adding three states to the Union, started the U.S. Naval Academy, began construction of the Washington Monument and issued the first postage stamp while proclaiming a uniform standard for all the states; elections would be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. True to his campaign pledge, he served only a four-year term. Before he and his wife returned to Tennessee, the couple embarked on an extensive tour of the southern states. At the end of the trip, he moved into his recently purchased estate in Nashville, "Polk Place." Besides those at the Nashville mansion, he owned a cotton plantation near Yalobusha, Mississippi with slaves and according to documents, took three slaves to the White House. Three months after leaving the White House, James Polk died during a cholera epidemic at age 53. He was buried at the Nashville City Cemetery and later reinterred on the lawn of his home Polk Place under a monument designed by architect William Strickland. His widow lived for over forty-two years at Polk Place before her death at age 87 and was buried beside him. The couple was childless. Eventually, Polk Place became neglected, was sold, and then demolished by 1901. After the property was sold, the couple's remains were re-interred on the grounds of the Tennessee State Capitol in 1893. His birthplace in Pineville is not authentic but a reconstruction on land from the farm of his birth resulted in a few embellished period cabins and a stone historic monument. The ancestral home in Columbia, Tennessee was constructed by the President's father in 1816 and is the only surviving residence of where Polk lived. Here he practiced law and began his political career. The home displays original items from his years in Tennessee and Washington including furniture, paintings and White House china. In the courtyard is located the cast iron fountain from the demolished Polk Place mansion in downtown Nashville. The home in Columbia is considered the President James Polk Home and Museum. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Until the 21st century, he was ranked at least tenth in various polls as the most successful United States President.