Write a brief biography of Zachary Taylor.

Zachary Taylor (1784–1850) was the first president elected without any prior political experience. He served as president for only 16 months before dying in office.
Raised in Kentucky on the frontier, he learned how to ride horses, shoot, and hunt. His father told stories of his service in the Revolutionary War. Most of his brothers also became soldiers.
Taylor joined the army in 1808 and became a professional soldier. He fought in the War of 1812, the Black Hawk War, and the conflict with the Seminoles in Florida. He became a national figure after his service in the Mexican War (1846–1948). At Buena Vista, he defeated a Mexican force that was four times larger.
The Whigs chose him to run for the presidency, and he won the election of 1848. At the time, the key issue facing the country was the growing rift between the North and South over slavery. Taylor owned slaves, but he opposed extending slavery into territories taken from Mexico. The Compromise of 1850 was enacted to deal with the sectional conflict, but Taylor died in office before it was implemented.