William Henry Harrison

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 United States president. His term lasted for exactly one month.

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	John Quincy Adams Andrew Jackson
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	(1773-02-09)February 9, 1773 Charles City County, Virginia, British America
Died	April 4, 1841(1841-04-04) (aged 68) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Cause of death	Enteric fever
Resting place	Harrison Tomb State Memorial
Political party	Democratic-Republican (before 1828) Whig (from 1836)
Spouse(s)	Anna Symmes ​ (m. 1795)​
Children	10, including John, 2 with Dilsia, including Marie Harrison
Father	Benjamin Harrison V
Relatives	Harrison family of Virginia
Education	Hampden–Sydney College University of Pennsylvania
Occupation	Soldier politician
Awards	Congressional Gold Medal Thanks of Congress
Signature
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army Indiana Territory militia
Years of service	1791–1798 1811 1812–1814
Rank	Major general
Unit	Legion of the United States
Commands	Army of the Northwest
Battles/wars	Northwest Indian War Siege of Fort Recovery Battle of Fallen Timbers Tecumseh's War Battle of Tippecanoe War of 1812 Siege of Fort Wayne Battle of the Thames

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. William Henry Harrison caught a serious case of pneumonia, and on April 4 that same year he died. He was the first president to die in office. Harrison was the oldest president to take office at 68 years, 23 days, until it was outdone in 1981 by Ronald Reagan who assumed the presidency at the age of 69. He was the last president to be born before the United States Declaration of Independence.

His grandson was the 23rd president of the United States, Benjamin Harrison.

Early life

Harrison was born on February 9, 1773. He is the youngest of Benjamin Harrison V and Elizabeth Bassett's seven children. They lived in Berkeley Plantation at Charles City County, Virginia. He was the last president to be born as a British citizen before the American Independence. His father was a planter and a delegate to the Continental Congress (1774–1777) who signed the Declaration of Independence. He was Governor of Virginia between 1781 and 1784. His older brother Carter Bassett Harrison was elected a representative of Virginia in the United States House of Representatives.

In 1787, he attended the Presbyterian Hampden-Sydney College. He attended the school until 1790. Harrison was fluent in Latin and French.

Marriage and family

In 1795, he met Anna Symmes. They had 10 children.

As President

He took the oath of office on March 4, 1841 which was a cold and wet day. His inaugural address was the longest in American history at 8,460 words and lasting almost two hours.

Harrison's inaugural address was a detailed statement of the Whig agenda, mainly unclaimed honest of Jackson's and Van Buren's policies.

Harrison promised to reestablish the Bank of the United States and extend its maximum amount for credit by issuing paper currency (see Henry Clay).

Harrison is also regarded as the President with the shortest term in office, serving 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 in the inauguration.

The cold was worsened, quickly turning to pneumonia and pleurisy. 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 time to rest.

Harrison's doctors tried cures of applying opium, castor oil, leeches, and Virginia snakeweed. But the treatments only made Harrison worse, and he became restless.

Harrison died on his 32nd day as president on April 4, 1841 at 12:30 am of pneumonia, jaundice, and septicima. He was 68 years old and the first president of the United States to die in office.

Harrison's funeral took place in Wesley Chapel in Cincinnati, Ohio on April 7, 1841, three days after his death. His original interment was in Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.. He was later buried in North Bend, Ohio.

Other websites

• William Henry Harrison's White House biography Archived 2008-06-14 at the Wayback Machine