William Henry HARRISON

President

William Henry Harrison Facts | 9th US PRESIDENT

US President: (1841)
US Vice President: John Tyler
Political Party: Whig, Democratic-Republican, Democratic
Birth: February 9, 1773 in Charles City, Virginia Colony
Death: April 4, 1841 in Washington D.C.
Education: University of Pennsylvania, Hampden-Sydney College

Offices Held:
9th President of the United States (1841)
United States Minister to Gran Colombia (1828 – 1829)
United States Senator from Ohio (1825 – 1828)
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio’s 1st district (1816 – 1819)
Governor of the Indiana Territory (1801 – 1812)
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the Northwest Territory’s At-large district (1799 – 1800)
Secretary of the Northwest Territory (1798 – 1799)

First Family
First Ladies: Anna Symmes (m. 1795 – 1841)
Children: Elizabeth Bassett Harrison, John Cleves Symmes Harrison, Lucy Singleton Harrison Este, William Henry Harrison, Jr., John Scott Harrison, Mary Symmes Harrison, Benjamin Harrison, Carter Bassett Harrison, Anna Tuthill Harrison Taylor, James Findlay Harrison
Pictures of Anna Harrison from the Library of Congress
Benjamin Harrison – father

Biographies
Biography from Biography.com
Congressional Biography

Photos
Pictures from the Library of Congress

Genealogy
Ancestors and Descendants of William Henry Harrison
Harrison ancestry

Facts about William Henry Harrison

  • His last words were to his doctor, but assumed to be directed at John Tyler, “”Sir, I wish you to understand the true principles of the government. I wish them carried out. I ask nothing more.””
  • Harrison served the shortest term of any American president: March 4 – April 4, 1841, 30 days, 12 hours, and 30 minutes.
  • Harrison wanted to be a doctor and actually attended the Pennsylvania Medical School. However, he could not afford the tuition and join the military.
  • His son, John Scott, would later be the father of Benjamin Harrison who would be elected as the twenty-third president of the United States.
  • Harrison fought in the Northwest Territory Indian Wars from 1791-1798, winning the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794.
  • Harrison’s only official act of consequence was to call Congress into a special session. Henry Clay and he had disagreed over the necessity of such a session, and when on March 11 Harrison’s cabinet proved evenly divided, the president vetoed the idea.
  • His brother, Carter Harrison, served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
  • Next, as governor, Harrison spearheaded the acquisition of land that belonged to Native American tribes.
  • Harrison nickname “”Old Tippecanoe”” and ran for president with the slogan “”Tippecanoe and Tyler Too”” due to his victory at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811.

Additionally, on a wet, winter day in 1841, the 68-year old Harrison eschewed a coat, hat, or gloves and dove into the longest inauguration speech ever given. Moreover, his 90-minute talk, written by himself and edited by former Senator Daniel Webster, spanned 8,445 words and covered not only political but personal issues.

William Henry Harrison Childhood

William Henry Harrison was born on February 9, 1773, on a Virginia plantation. He was born into a well-connected family who had deep roots in the “”planter aristocracy.”” His father, Benjamin Harrison, signed the Declaration of Independence and was a member of the Continental Congress. Additionally, Harrison studied classics and history at Hampden-Sydney College and then studied medicine in Richmond with another co-signer of the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Rush.

In 1791, Harrison changed career paths, joining the First Infantry of the Regular Army and heading to the Northwest. He served under General Anthony Wayne in his struggle against the Northwest Indian Confederation, which culminated in the Battle of Fallen Timbers (August 1794)

Where is William Henry Harrison buried?

In conclusion, Harrison’s funeral took place in the Wesley Chapel in Cincinnati, Ohio, on April 7, 1841. Also, original interment was in the public vault of the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C. He is buried in North Bend, Ohio. The William Henry Harrison Tomb State Memorial was erected in his honor.

How did William Henry Harrison die?

Finally, he died at 12:30 am on April 4, 1841. Causes of his death were pneumonia and pleurisy.

William Henry HARRISON Biography

HARRISON, William Henry, (son of Benjamin Harrison [1726-1791], father of John Scott Harrison, brother of Carter Bassett Harrison, grandfather of Benjamin Harrison, and great-great-grandfather of William Henry Harrison [1896-1990]), a Delegate from the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, a Representative and a Senator from Ohio, and 9th President of the United States; born on Berkeley Plantation, Charles City County, Va., February 9, 1773; pursued classical studies; attended Hampden-Sydney College, Virginia; studied medicine; entered the Army in 1798 as an ensign in the First Infantry, served in the Indian wars, and rose to the rank of lieutenant; resigned from the Army in 1798; appointed secretary of the Northwest Territory 1798-1799; elected as a Delegate from the Northwest Territory to the Sixth Congress and served from March 4, 1799, to May 14, 1800,

When he resigned to become Territorial Governor of Indiana 1801-1813 and also Indian commissioner; defeated the Indians at Tippecanoe in November 1811; major general in the United States Army in the War of 1812; resigned from the Army in 1814; head commissioner to treat with the Indians; elected to the Fourteenth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John McLean; reelected to the Fifteenth Congress and served from October 8, 1816, to March 3, 1819; unsuccessful candidate for governor, Ohio in 1820; member, State senate 1819-1821; presidential elector in Ohio in 1822; unsuccessful candidate for House of Representatives in 1822; elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1825, to May 20, 1828, when he resigned to become Minister to Colombia 1828-1829; chairman, Committee on Military Affairs (Nineteenth and Twentieth Congresses); unsuccessful Whig candidate for president in 1836; elected President of the United States in 1840 and served from March 4, 1841, until his death in Washington, D.C., April 4, 1841; interment in William Henry Harrison Memorial State Park, opposite Congress Green Cemetery, North Bend, Ohio.

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