Dallas, George Mifflin

Dallas, George Mifflin Dallas, George Mifflin, 1792â€"1864, American statesman, vice president of the United States (1845â€"49), b. Philadelphia; son of Alexander James Dallas . He read law, was admitted (1813) to the bar, and was secretary to Albert Gallatin . After serving as solicitor (1815â€"17) of the Bank of the United States, Dallas was city attorney (1817â€"19) and mayor (1819) of Philadelphia. An active Democrat, he was appointed (1829) U.S. district attorney for E Pennsylvania, then served as a U.S. senator (1831â€"33), as attorney general of Pennsylvania (1833â€"35), and as minister to Russia (1837â€"39). He returned to his law practice, and a sharp political rivalry developed between him and James Buchanan in Pennsylvania. In 1844, Dallas was elected vice president on the Democratic ticket along with James K. Polk . Dallas was later appointed (1856) minister to Great Britain and was succeeded (1861) in that post by Charles Francis Adams . Dallas conducted the negotiations leading to the Dallas-Clarendon Convention, signed in 1856, which set a basis for the settlement of difficulties in Central America. He also secured from Great Britain a disavowal of the right of search, a historic matter of dispute. He wrote a biography (1871) of his father. See his letters from London (1869) and his diaries (1892) while a minister to Great Britain and Russia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History: Biographies