Benjamin Harrison

Guide Note:

Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States.

Fast Facts:

1. Born: August 20, 1833
2. Political Party: Republican
3. Administration: 1889 to 1893
4. Vice-President: Levi P. Morton
5. Preceded by: Grover Cleveland
6. Succeeded by: Grover Cleveland
7. Secretary of State: James G. Blaine, John W. Foster
8. First Lady: Caroline Lavinia Scott Harrison (died in 1892)
9. Second wife: Mary Scott Lord Dimmick, married 1896
10. Occupation: Lawyer
11. Grandson of President William Henry Harrison
12. To date, only U.S. President from Indiana
13. Died: March 13, 1901

The grandson of William Henry Harrison, the 9th President of the United States, Benjamin Harrison grew up in a political environment. A lawyer by trade, Harrison fought for the North in the Civil War, and served in a variety of political positions until his election to the U.S. Senate from Indiana in 1881.

In 1888, Harrison was the Republican nominee and ran against incumbent President Grover Cleveland. In an unusual outcome, Harrison lost the popular vote, but decisively won the Electoral College vote and became President. During his relatively unexceptional Presidency, Harrison attempted to reform the civil service, remove antiquated tariffs, and expand American influence in the Caribbean and Pacific. After his tariff reforms resulted in dwindling federal reserves and an economic downturn near the end of his Presidency, Harrison became unpopular and was defeated in his bid for re-election by the very man he had unseated: Grover Cleveland. Just before the 1892 election, his wife, First Lady Caroline Lavinia Scott Harrison, died of tuberculosis.

Harrison married the niece of his late wife in 1869, and the two traveled widely. In 1901, Harrison died of influenza and pneumonia, and was buried in his home state of Indiana.