The office of Vice President of the United States has been vacant on numerous occasions due to death or resignation as shown below. When either the President or Vice President dies or resigns it creates a vacancy in the office of Vice President. Prior to the 25th Amendment there was no Constitutional provision for filling any vice presidential vacancy and the office would remain unoccupied until the next election. Although this has not happened in any of the previous cases below, if the President dies, resigns or is removed from office during a period where there is no vice president, the next in line according to the presidential succession law in effect at that time would determine the next president.
| Time Period | Reason for Vacancy |
|---|---|
| 1812-1813 | George Clinton died in office |
| 1814-1817 | Elbridge Gerry died in office |
| 1832-1833 | John C. Calhoun resigned from office |
| 1841-1845 | John Tyler became President upon the death of William Henry Harrison |
| 1850-1853 | Millard Fillmore became President upon the death of Zachary Taylor |
| 1853-1857 | William King died in office |
| 1865-1869 | Andrew Johnson became President upon the death of Abraham Lincoln |
| 1875-1877 | Henry Wilson died in office |
| 1881-1885 | Chester Arthur became President upon the death of James Garfield |
| 1885-1889 | Thomas Hendricks died in office |
| 1899-1901 | Garret Hobart died in office |
| 1901-1905 | Theodore Roosevelt became President upon the death of William McKinley |
| 1912-1913 | James S. Sherman died in office |
| 1923-1925 | Calvin Coolidge became President upon the death of Warren Harding |
| 1945-1949 | Harry Truman became President upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| 1963-1965 | Lyndon Johnson became President upon the death of John F. Kennedy |
| 1973 | Spiro Agnew resigned from office |
| 1974 | Gerald Ford became President upon the resignation of Richard Nixon |