Video: 'American President #8: Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)'

(Thursday, December 5, 1782) — Martin Van Buren, the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841 and the eighth vice president of the United States (under President Andrew Jackson) from 1833 to 1837, was born today in the village of Kinderhook, New York.

Video: 'Life Portrait of Martin Van Buren'

Van Buren was the first president born a citizen of the United States, as all previous presidents were born before the American Revolution.

Video: '#08 Martin Van Buren'

A founder of the Democratic Party, he had previously served as the ninth governor of New York and the tenth United States secretary of state.

Later in his life, Van Buren emerged as an elder statesman and an important anti-slavery leader who led the Free Soil Party ticket in the 1848 presidential election.