Born: April 12, 1777 in Hanover County, [[Virginia]] Parents: John Clay (Baptist minister) and Elizabeth Hudson Clay Spouse: Lucretia Hart Clay (married 1799) Children: Henrietta Clay (1800-1801), Theodore Wythe Clay (1802-1870), Thomas Hart Clay (1803-1871), Susan Hart Clay (1805-1825), Anne Brown Clay (1807-1835), Lucretia Hart Clay (1809-1823), Henry Clay Jr. (1811-1847), Eliza Clay (1813-1825), Laura Clay (1815-1817), James Brown Clay (1817-1864), John Morrison Clay (1821-1887) Died: June 29, 1852 (age 75, tuberculosis) Highest Office: U.S. Secretary of State (1825-1829) Other Notable Positions: Speaker of the House (1811-1814, 1815-1820, 1823-1825), U.S. Senator from [[Kentucky]] (1806-1807, 1810-1811, 1831-1842, 1849-1852), U.S. Representative from [[Kentucky]] (1811-1821, 1823-1825) Party Affiliation: Democratic-Republican Party, National Republican Party, Whig Party Historical Note: "The Great Compromiser" who helped hold the Union together through the Missouri Compromise (1820), Compromise Tariff (1833), and Compromise of 1850. Ran for president five times but never won. Powerful Speaker of the House and founder of the Whig Party. Developed the "American System" of economic nationalism. Member of the "Great Triumvirate" with [[Daniel Webster]] and [[John C. Calhoun]]. Mentor to [[Abraham Lincoln]].