“Clay served as the seventh Speaker of the House and later as the ninth Secretary of State.”

Henry Clay was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. He was born on April 12, 1777, in Hanover County, Virginia, and died on June 29, 1852, in Washington, D.C.

Clay served as the seventh Speaker of the House and later as the ninth Secretary of State. He was a leading figure in early 19th-century American politics and unsuccessfully ran for president in 1824, 1832, and 1844.

As Speaker and a leader of the War Hawks, he played a key role in securing a declaration of war against Great Britain in June 1812. Clay helped found both the National Republican Party and the Whig Party. His reputation as a political compromiser stemmed from his involvement in the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise Tariff of 1833, and the Compromise of 1850.

For his efforts to defuse sectional conflicts, he earned the nickname “The Great Compromiser” and was part of the “Great Triumvirate” of Congress alongside Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun. Over the course of his life, Clay enslaved more than 140 Black individuals.

He is buried at Louisville Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky.

Address: The Lexington Cemetery, 833 W Main St, Lexington, KY 40508.