Although born in Kentucky (Christian County) on June 3, 1808, Jefferson Davis’ family moved to Louisiana (1811) and then to Mississippi (1812) where he was raised. Jefferson attended Jefferson College in Mississippi, and Transylvania University in Kentucky before graduating from the United States Military Academy (West Point) in 1828. Davis fought in the Mexican-American War in 1846.
He resigned his military commission to marry Sarah Knox Taylor, daughter of Zachary Taylor, in 1835. Contacting malaria three months after the wedding, Sarah died. In 1836 Davis moved back to Mississippi. Davis married again in 1845 to Varina Howell, granddaughter of former New Jersey Governor Richard Howell. They had six (6) children but only a daughter, Margaret, survived young adulthood.
Davis served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi’s At-large congressional district from 1845 to 1846; U.S. Senator from Mississippi from 1947 to 1851 and again 1857 to 1861; 23rd United States Secretary of War from 1853 to 1857 under President Franklin Pierce. Davis resigned as a Mississippi Senator on January 21, 1861 and was elected President of the Confederate States of American on February 18, 1861. The Confederacy continued until May 5, 1865 when its government was officially dissolved. Captured by Union forces five days later, Davis was held prisoner for two years at Fort Monroe, Virginia. He was indicted for treason in 1866. He was finally released on bail and ultimately the case against him was dropped in February 1869.
Davis became president of the Carolina Life Insurance Company located in Memphis, Tennessee in 1869. At some point afterward Davis went to England and stayed until 1878 when he returned to Mississippi. Davis wrote a book, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, between 1878 and 1881. This book did much to restore his reputation in the South. He completed A Short History of the Confederate States of America, in 1889.
Davis died on December 6, 1889 in New Orleans, Louisiana from an undetermined cause. He was 81. Originally buried in New Orleans, his widow had his body exhumed and transported to a Richmond, Virginia cemetery in 1893.