List of Presidents of the United States who died in office
During the history of the United States, eight presidents have died in office.[1] Of those eight, four were assassinated, and four died of natural causes.[2] In all eight cases, the Vice President of the United States took over the office of presidency as part of the United States presidential line of succession.[3]
William Henry Harrison holds the record for shortest term served, holding the office of presidency for 31 days before dying. Harrison was the first president to die while in office when he caught pneumonia and died on April 4, 1841.[4] On July 9, 1850, Zachary Taylor died from acute gastroenteritis.[5] Abraham Lincoln was the first president to be assassinated. He was shot in the back of the head by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865.[6] Sixteen years later, on September 19, 1881, President James A. Garfield was assassinated by Charles Julius Guiteau.[7] Nearly twenty years after that, President William McKinley died from complications after being shot twice by Leon Czolgosz.[8] President Warren G. Harding suffered a heart attack, and died on August 2, 1923.[9] On April 12, 1945, Franklin Delano Roosevelt collapsed and died as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage.[10] The most recent president to die in office was John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated with two rifle shots by the sniper Lee Harvey Oswald on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas.[11]
Contents |
[edit] United States Presidents who died in office
| # in office |
President | Year(s) elected[a] | Length of term (days) |
Date of death | Cause of death | Age | Successor | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | William Henry Harrison | 1840 | 31 | April 4, 1841 | Pneumonia and pleurisy | 68 | John Tyler | [4] |
| 12 | Zachary Taylor | 1848 | 491 | July 9, 1850 | Acute Gastroenteritis | 65 | Millard Fillmore | [5] |
| 16 | Abraham Lincoln | 1860, 1864 | 1,503 | April 15, 1865 | Assassinated by John Wilkes Booth | 56 | Andrew Johnson | [6] |
| 20 | James A. Garfield | 1880 | 199 | September 19, 1881 | Assassinated by Charles Julius Guiteau | 49 | Chester A. Arthur | [7] |
| 25 | William McKinley | 1896, 1900 | 1,654 | September 14, 1901 | Assassinated by Leon Frank Czolgosz | 58 | Theodore Roosevelt | [8] |
| 29 | Warren G. Harding | 1920 | 881 | August 2, 1923 | Heart attack | 57 | Calvin Coolidge | [9] |
| 32 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944 | 4,422 | April 12, 1945 | Cerebral hemorrhage | 63 | Harry S. Truman | [10] |
| 35 | John F. Kennedy | 1960 | 1,036 | November 22, 1963 | Assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald | 46 | Lyndon B. Johnson | [11] |
[edit] Notes
- a Each year is linked to an article about that particular United States presidential election for that year.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Brunner, Borgna. "Presidential Trivia". Info Please. http://www.infoplease.com/spot/prestrivia1.html. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Presidential and Vice Presidential Succession: Overview and Current Legislation". Internet Public Library. http://www.ipl.org/div/farq/POTUSFARQ.html#question4. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
- ^ Neale, Thomas H. (2004-09-27). "Presidential and Vice Presidential Succession: Overview and Current Legislation" (PDF). Federation of American Scientists. http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL31761.pdf. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ^ a b "Harrison's Inauguration". Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trr072.html. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ^ a b "Zachary Taylor". White House. http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/zt12.html. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ^ a b "Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln". Library of Congress. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/alrintr.html. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ^ a b MacGowen, Douglas. "Charles J. Guiteau". Crime Library. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/assassins/charles_guiteau/index.html. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ^ a b Gado, Mark. "The Assassination of President William McKinley". Crime Library. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/assassins/mckinley/1.html. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ^ a b "Harding a Farm Boy Who Rose by Work". New York Times. 1923-08-03. http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1102.html. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ^ a b "Franklin D. Roosevelt". White House. http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/fr32.html. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ^ a b "The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection". National Archives. http://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
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