President
Natural Death in Office |
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WILLIAM
HENRY HARRISON [1841-1841]
Ninth President
February 9, 1773 - April 4, 1841
William Henry Harrison gave the longest inaugural speech
in history; one hour and forty-five minutes. He kept speaking
even though a blinding rainstorm hit the capital just as he began.
The President wore no hat or overcoat, and subsequently caught
a severe cold that led to pneumonia. He died thirty-one days
after entering the presidency, an irony for a man who briefly
studied medicine at Penn University. Harrison was the first President
to lie in state at the White House. |
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ZACHARY
TAYLOR [1849-1850]
Twelfth President
November 24, 1784 - July 9, 1850
Zachary Taylor attended the festive July 4th ceremonies at
the capital in 1850 during one of the hottest summers on record.
He returned to the White House suffering from heat exhaustion,
and consumed a bowl of cherries and a large pitcher of ice cold
milk. The president developed a severe case of indigestion and
fell ill with a high fever. He died five days later. There was
some suspicion of foul play, intensified when Mrs. Taylor refused
to have her husband's body embalmed, nor did she permit a death
mask taken. In 1994 his body was exhumed at the request of noted
historians, who pointed to the possibility of poison as the cause
of death. The autopsy proved the Taylor died of natural causes. |
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WARREN
HARDING [1921-1923]
Twenty-ninth President
November 2, 1865 - August 2, 1923
Warren Harding fell ill in on the West Coast upon returning
from a good will trip to Alaska. He suffered ptomaine poisoning,
but recovered quickly. Within weeks of the incident he contracted
pneumonia and was bed-ridden, but again to the amazement of his
doctors, the President made a remarkable recovery. He made plans
to return to Washington but suddenly died of a heart attack on
August 2. Harding's administration was under attack on various
charges of fraud, embezzlement, and corruption amid widespread
publicity of his infidelity. Some theorize Mrs. Harding may have
poisoned her husband to spare him the embarrassment of impeachment,
or possibly came to the end of her rope with his open sexual
affairs. The First Lady ordered no autopsy performed, and upon
returning to the White House, burned all his personal papers
and confiscated his belongings. |
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FRANKLIN
ROOSEVELT [1933-1945]
Thirty-second President
January 30, 1882 - April 12, 1945
Franklin Roosevelt suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage
at his summer home in Warm Springs, Georgia. He died instantly
on April 12, 1945, eighty-three days after his inauguration to
an unprecedented fourth term. The President was stricken with
polio in August 1921, which left him without the use of his legs
and confined to a wheel chair. Ironically the public never knew
of the President's affliction, a secret well guarded by associates
and members of the press. |
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