Thomas M. T. McKennan

Thomas McKennan (1794–1852) had been Pennsylvania's deputy attorney general and also served in the U.S. House of Representatives. After much external pressure, McKennan accepted the secretary of the Interior appointment but immediately regretted his decision. Resigning after just 12 days in the position, McKennan holds the distinction of serving the shortest term as secretary. By virtue of his brief tenure, however, McKennan was fleetingly the head of the 1850 Census and had officially expressed concern about privacy protection in terms of the data collected. McKennan went on to become president of the Hempfield Railroad.