1782: Born in New York

1796: Graduates from Kinderhook Academy; serves as clerk for lawyer and begins studying law

1803: Passes New York bar; sets up law practice in Kinderhook

1813-20: Serves in New York senate

1815-19: Serves as New York attorney general

1821-28: Serves as U.S. senator from New York

1828: Elected governor of New York; resigns in March 1829 to join President Andrew Jackson's Cabinet as secretary of state

1831: Resigns as secretary of state and is nominated by Jackson as minister to England, but the nomination is rejected by Congress

1832: Helps establish the Democratic Party, which nominates Jackson for second term; Jackson wins election with Van Buren as vice president

1837-41: Serves as eighth U.S. president

1837: Banks close in Philadelphia and New York City on May 10, beginning the Panic of 1837 and a depression that lasts throughout Van Buren's term

1838: Van Buren continues Jackson's...