John Tyler
Born: March 29, 1790
Died: January 18, 1862
Term in Office: 1841-1845
As pointed out a few posts ago, John Tyler took over the Oval Office upon the death of William Henry Harrison (the 'Tippecanoe' of 'Tippecanoe and Tyler Too' fame) after only 32 days of the latter man's time as president. Tyler really set the precedent for such a succession, insisting he be sworn in fully as president and not just act as a sort of chairman of the board, the Constitution being pretty vague on the process until the 25th Amendment was ratified in the second half of the 20th century.
Tyler was never elected to the office, serving out the bulk of the term to which Harrison was elected. A major reason for his single term was his practice of bucking his party, the Whigs, at almost every turn. So disgusted were the party leaders with the man that they basically kicked him out of the party. (Oh, would that the present-day Republicans grow some cajones and do the same to The Orange Man, the perpetrator of the Big Lie)
A few items of interest on this guy:
He annexed Texas, setting the stage for the next president, Polk, to fully bring it into the Union via the War with Mexico.
He had a bunch of kids – 15, 14 of whom made it into adulthood. He fathered his last child at the age of 70, and that son, Lyon, fathered a child in 1928 at the age of 78. And that kid, Harrison, is still living as of this writing. Amazing that a man born two years after the Constitution was ratified would have a grandson still living in 2021.
When Tyler died in 1862, President Lincoln did not order the flags be flown at half-mast. The Confederacy, however, held a 150-carriage procession in his honor. Loyal Virginian that he was, he served in the Congress of the Confederate States. (Sad side note: of the first twelve U.S. Presidents, only two – the Adamses – did not own slaves)
Peace to all, and get your vaccines.
Again, thanks to www.mentalfloss.com for some info contained herein.
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