William Henry Harrison. Ninth President of the United States.

PrinterPrinted by Kelloggs & Comstock American, 1848 - 1850

PublisherPublished by Kelloggs & Comstock American, 1848 - 1850

PublisherPublished by Ensign & Thayer American, 1849 - 1850

Date1849-1850

MediumLithography; printer's ink and watercolor on wove paper

DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 11 1/4 x 8 5/16in. (28.6 x 21.1cm)
Sheet (height x width): 12 13/16 x 9 1/4in. (32.5 x 23.5cm)

ClassificationsGraphics

Credit LineConnecticut Museum of Culture and History collection

DescriptionHalf-length portrait of a middle-aged man wearing a double-breasted coat, shirt, and tie. He is seated in an armchair at a table. He holds a quill pen and sword. A sheet of paper and two books are on the table. Drapery with tassels and a column are in the background.

Object number1995.182.73

InscribedLithographed title beneath image: "WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. / Ninth President of the United States. / Born Feb. 9 1773 - Inaugurated March 4 1841- Died April 4 1841." Inscribed in pencil on verso, lower right: "consv CPC 1987" "dwr 6". Old and new accession numbers inscribed in pencil, lower left.NotesSubject Note: William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) was born in Berkeley, the scion of the Virginia planter aristocracy. He studied medicine in Richmond, Virginia, but in 1791, he shifted interests suddenly and obtained a commission as ensign in the First Infantry of the Regular Army. Harrison served as aide-de-camp to General "Mad Anthony" Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. He resigned from the army in 1798, became the Secretary of the Northwest Territory and its first delegate to Congress, and then, in 1801, became Governor of the Indiana Territory, serving for twelve years.

Tensions between Native Americans and settlers began to grow serious in 1809; Tecumseh and his brother the Prophet were strengthening the Native American confederation, and in 1811, Harrison received permission to attack. Harrison led a group of about one thousand men toward the Prophet's town on 7 November 1811; the resulting battle, the Battle of Tippecanoe, made Harrison a household name. After heavy fighting and losses, Harrison and his men repulsed the Prophet's men.

Harrison won more military laurels during the War of 1812; he was promoted to Brigadier General and given command of the army in the Northwest. At the Battle of the Thames on 5 October 1813, he defeated the combined British and Native American forces and killed Tecumseh. After that battle, the Native Americans scattered, never to offer serious resistance in that region again, and General Harrison returned to civilian life.

The Whig party nominated William Henry Harrison for the Presidency in 1840. He won the general election by only a small majority, but won by a landslide in the Electoral College, becoming the country's ninth President. But before he finished his first month in office, President Harrison caught a cold that developed into pneumonia. On 4 April 1841, William Henry Harrison became the first American president to die in office.

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