Pierce, Franklin. Fourteenth president of the United States. Born in Hillsboro, NH, 1804, and was educated at Bowdoin College. Here he formed a friendship with Nathaniel Hawthorne, who became his biographer. When elected to the United States Senate in 1847, Pierce was its youngest member. He served as brigadier-general in the Mexican War, leading troops at the battles of Contreras and Churubusco. As Democratic candidate for president in 1852, he received the electoral votes of all but four states. During his administration, the leading events were the Gadsen Purchase, the Koszta Affair, and the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. Died 1869.

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