William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison | |
|---|---|
1835 portrait | |
| 9th President of the United States | |
| In office March 4, 1841 – April 4, 1841 | |
| Vice President | John Tyler |
| Preceded by | Martin Van Buren |
| Succeeded by | John Tyler |
| United States Minister to Gran Colombia | |
| In office February 5, 1829 – September 26, 1829 | |
| President | |
| Preceded by | Beaufort Taylor Watts |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Patrick Moore |
| United States Senator from Ohio | |
| In office March 4, 1825 – May 20, 1828 | |
| Preceded by | Ethan Allen Brown |
| Succeeded by | Jacob Burnet |
| Member of the Ohio Senate from the Hamilton County district | |
| In office December 5, 1819 – December 2, 1821 | |
| Preceded by | Ephraim Brown |
| Succeeded by | Ephraim Brown |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 1st district | |
| In office October 8, 1816 – March 3, 1819 | |
| Preceded by | John McLean |
| Succeeded by | Thomas R. Ross |
| 1st Governor of the Indiana Territory | |
| In office January 10, 1801 – December 28, 1812 | |
| Appointed by | John Adams |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Posey |
| Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from the Northwest Territory's at-large district | |
| In office March 4, 1799 – May 14, 1800 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | William McMillan |
| 2nd Secretary of the Northwest Territory | |
| In office June 28, 1798 – October 1, 1799 | |
| Governor | Arthur St. Clair |
| Preceded by | Winthrop Sargent |
| Succeeded by | Charles Willing Byrd |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 9, 1773 Charles City County, Virginia, British America |
| Died | April 4, 1841 (aged 68) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Cause of death | Enteric fever |
| Resting place | Harrison Tomb State Memorial |
| Political party |
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| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 10, including John, 2 with Dilsia, including Marie Harrison |
| Father | Benjamin Harrison V |
| Relatives | Harrison family of Virginia |
| Education |
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| Occupation |
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| Awards | |
| Signature | |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |
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| Years of service |
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| Rank | Major general |
| Unit | Legion of the United States |
| Commands | Army of the Northwest |
| Battles/wars |
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William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773 – April 4, 1841) was the 9th president of the United States. His nickname was "Old Tippecanoe," and he was a well-respected war veteran. Harrison served the shortest term of any president, exactly one month.[1]
He was elected president in 1840 and took the oath of office on March 4, 1841. His inauguration speech lasted an hour and forty minutes. He caught a serious case of pneumonia and on April 4, he died. He was the first president to die in office.[2]
Harrison was the oldest president to take office, at 68 years and 23 days, until the record was broken in 1981 by Ronald Reagan, who became president at the age of 69. He was the last president to be born before the Declaration of Independence.
His grandson was the 23rd president, Benjamin Harrison.
Early life
Harrison was born on February 9, 1773 and is the youngest of Benjamin Harrison V and Elizabeth Bassett's seven children. They lived in Berkeley Plantation, in Charles City County, Virginia.
His father was a planter and a delegate to the Continental Congress (1774–1777), signed the Declaration of Independence, and was the governor of Virginia between 1781 and 1784.[3]
William's older brother Carter Bassett Harrison would be elected a representative of Virginia in the US House of Representatives.
In 1787, William attended the Presbyterian Hampden-Sydney College from 1787 to 1790. He was fluent in Latin and French.
Marriage and family
Harrison married Anna Symmes in 1795.They had ten children.
Presidency
He was elected as president in 1840, the last one to be born as a British subject or before the Declaration of Independence.
He took the oath of office on March 4, 1841. His inaugural address was the longest in American history, at 8,460 words and lasting almost two hours.[4]
Harrison's inaugural address was a detailed statement of the Whig Party's agenda, mainly opposition to the policies of Presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren.
Harrison promised to re-establish the Bank of the United States and to extend its maximum amount for credit by issuing paper currency, as Henry Clay supported .
Harrison was the president with the shortest term in office by serving only 30 days, 12 hours, and 30 minutes.
Illness and death
On March 26, 1841, Harrison became ill with a cold. His illness was believed to have been caused by the bad weather at the inauguration, which was on a cold and wet day.[5]
The cold worsened and quickly turned to pneumonia and pleurisy.[5] He tried to rest in the White House but could not find a quiet room because of the crowd of office-seekers. His very busy social schedule made it harder for him to have time to rest.
His doctors tried cures of applying opium, castor oil, leeches, and Virginia snakeweed, but the treatments only made him worse, and he became restless.
Harrison died on his 32nd day as president, on April 4, 1841, at 12:30 a.m. of pneumonia, jaundice, and septicima. He was 68 years old and the first president to die in office.
Harrison's funeral took place in Wesley Chapel in Cincinnati, Ohio, on April 7, 1841, three days after his death.[6] His original interment was in Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C. He was later buried in North Bend, Ohio.
References
- ↑ William Henry Harrison Archived 2009-01-22 at the Wayback Machine at White House.gov
- ↑ Watson, Robert P.; Gordon, Ann (2003). Anticipating Madam President. Lynne Rienner Publishers. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-58826-113-7. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
- ↑ Owens 2007, p. 3.
- ↑ "Inaugural Address of William Henry Harrison". Projects VOA News. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cleaves 1939, p. 152.
- ↑ "Presidential Funerals". Archived from the original on 2013-10-21. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
Other websites
- William Henry Harrison's White House biography Archived 2008-06-14 at the Wayback Machine