John Eaton

Infobox US Cabinet official
name=John Henry Eaton

---

order=13th
title=United States Secretary of War
term_start=March 9, 1829
term_end=June 18, 1831
president=Andrew Jackson
predecessor=Peter Buell Porter
successor=Lewis Cass
birth_date=birth date|1790|6|18|mf=y
birth_place=Halifax County, North Carolina, U.S.
death_date=death date and age|1856|11|17|1790|06|18
death_place=Washington, D.C., U.S.
party=Democratic
spouse=Margaret O'Neill Eaton
profession=Lawyer, Politician

John Henry Eaton (June 18, 1790 – November 17, 1856) was an American politician and diplomat from Tennessee who served as U.S. Senator and as Secretary of War in the administration of Andrew Jackson. He has the distinction of serving as the youngest U.S. Senator in history, having been 28 years old at he time of his swearing-in.

He was born near Scotland Neck, Halifax County, North Carolina. His first wife was Myra Lewis. After Myra's death, He married his second wife, Peggy O'Neill.

He was a Democratic lawyer. He served in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812. He was a member of Tennessee House of Representatives from 1815 to 1816 and a U.S. Senator from Tennessee from 1818 to 1821 and again from 1821 to 1829. His apparent age of 28 at the time of his inauguration is notable; it contradicted the US Constitution's requirement that all Senators be over the age of 30. At the time, many people did not know their actual birth records; although it is not certain what occurred in this case. In any event, if challenged, he could have referred to previous under-aged Senators Armistead Mason or Henry Clay.

He was a close personal friend of Andrew Jackson. After Jackson became President he, along with Postmaster General, Amos Kendall, were the only members of the official Cabinet who were also a member of Jackson's informal circle of advisors often satirically called by Jackson detractors the "Kitchen Cabinet". (Apparently this group did, in fact, frequently meet in the White House kitchen.) He resigned his Senate seat in 1829 in order to take up appointment as Jackson's Secretary of War, a post in which he served from 1829 to 1831, when he resigned from the Cabinet over a scandal concerning his second wife, Peggy, that was known as the Petticoat Affair. He was later Governor of Florida Territory from 1834 to 1836 and ambassador to Spain from 1836 to 1840.

Eaton, a Freemason, died in Washington, D.C. on November 17, 1856. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C.

Eaton County, Michigan is named in his honor.

References

* [http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Youngest_Senator.htm Youngest Senator in history] - Senate.gov