Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/United States/Bell, John

Bell, John, was born near Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 15, 1797, and died near the same place, Sept. 10, 1869. He graduated at Nashville in 1814, became a lawyer, and served in the house of representatives, 1829-41, and in the senate, 1847-59, acting as secretary of war from March to October 1841. He was nominated for the presidency in 1860, and was defeated.