2. William Henry Harrison
You could be forgiven for not knowing the name William Henry Harrison as he didn’t have a lot of time to make his mark on history. Born in Charles City County, Virginia, on February 9, 1773, and the son of Benjamin Harrison V, who was a Founding Father of the United States, Harrison would have a distinguished career in the military before turning his attention to politics in 1798, when he was appointed as Secretary of the Northwest Territory.
Harrison would suffer defeat at the hands of our previous entry, Martin Van Buren, in the 1836 presidential election. However, due to Van Buren’s catastrophic response to the Panic of 1837, Harrison would soundly defeat him in 1840 and claim the presidency for himself. Unfortunately, the celebrations wouldn’t last for long.
When Harrison took the oath of office on a cold and wet Thursday on March 4, 1841, little did he know that his presidency would be the shortest in United States history? Just three weeks after his inauguration on Friday, March 26, Harrison became ill with cold-like symptoms and sent for his doctor. Just nine days after falling ill and exactly one month after taking the oath of office, William Henry Harrison would be the first President to die in office.
