Happy Birthday Old Tippecanoe
On February 9, 1773 (241 years ago today) William Henry Harrison, the ninth President of the United States, was born in Charles City, in what was then the colony of Virginia (and what later became the state of Virginia.) He was the last President to be born a British subject and the last born before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a document signed by his father Benjamin Harrison V. He is also, thus far, the only President to be the grandfather of another President. His grandson Benjamin Harrison would hold the office from 1889-1893. He was 68 years, 23 days old when inaugurated, the oldest president to take office until Ronald Reagan in 1981. He holds another distinction, that of being the person who served the shortest term in office. He died on the 32nd day of his term as president and became the first president to die in office.
Before election as president, Harrison served as the first territorial congressional delegate from the Northwest Territory, as governor of the Indiana Territory and later as a U.S. representative and senator from Ohio. He originally gained national fame for leading U.S. forces against American Indians at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811, where he earned the nickname "Tippecanoe" (or "Old Tippecanoe"). As a general in the War of 1812, his most notable action was in the Battle of the Thames in 1813, which brought an end to hostilities in his region. This battle resulted in the death of the famed Indian Chief Tecumseh and in the dissolution of the Indian coalition which Tecumseh led.
After the war, Harrison moved to Ohio, where he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. In 1824 the state legislature elected him to the US Senate. He was appointed as Minister Plenipotentiary to Colombia in May 1828, where he tried to convince Columbian President Simón Bolívar to adopt American-style democracy.
Harrison returned to his farm in Ohio after being relieved of his post in Columbia following a change in the White House. He was nominated for the presidency in 1836 as one of four regional candidates for the Whig Party in a dubious election strategy. Although he was defeated by Democrat Martin Van Buren, he ran for president again in 1840, in one of the most colorful election campaigns ever held, in which voters were asked to vote for the former hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe and for his running mate John Tyler, with the slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too!"
Harrison held office for just over a month. In that short time, he showed signs of being independent of pressure from his party. Unfortunately, Harrison died on his 32nd day in office, on April 4, 1841, of complications from pneumonia, serving the shortest tenure in United States presidential history. His death sparked a brief constitutional crisis over what happened when a president died in office, but its resolution settled many questions about presidential succession left unanswered by the Constitution until 20th-century passage of the 25th Amendment. He is buried in North Bend, Ohio, just west of Cincinnati.
Before election as president, Harrison served as the first territorial congressional delegate from the Northwest Territory, as governor of the Indiana Territory and later as a U.S. representative and senator from Ohio. He originally gained national fame for leading U.S. forces against American Indians at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811, where he earned the nickname "Tippecanoe" (or "Old Tippecanoe"). As a general in the War of 1812, his most notable action was in the Battle of the Thames in 1813, which brought an end to hostilities in his region. This battle resulted in the death of the famed Indian Chief Tecumseh and in the dissolution of the Indian coalition which Tecumseh led.
After the war, Harrison moved to Ohio, where he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. In 1824 the state legislature elected him to the US Senate. He was appointed as Minister Plenipotentiary to Colombia in May 1828, where he tried to convince Columbian President Simón Bolívar to adopt American-style democracy.
Harrison returned to his farm in Ohio after being relieved of his post in Columbia following a change in the White House. He was nominated for the presidency in 1836 as one of four regional candidates for the Whig Party in a dubious election strategy. Although he was defeated by Democrat Martin Van Buren, he ran for president again in 1840, in one of the most colorful election campaigns ever held, in which voters were asked to vote for the former hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe and for his running mate John Tyler, with the slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too!"
Harrison held office for just over a month. In that short time, he showed signs of being independent of pressure from his party. Unfortunately, Harrison died on his 32nd day in office, on April 4, 1841, of complications from pneumonia, serving the shortest tenure in United States presidential history. His death sparked a brief constitutional crisis over what happened when a president died in office, but its resolution settled many questions about presidential succession left unanswered by the Constitution until 20th-century passage of the 25th Amendment. He is buried in North Bend, Ohio, just west of Cincinnati.