Health and Medical History of President
Benjamin Harrison
President #23: 1889-1893
Lived 1833-1901
Lived 1833-1901
Health and Medical History of President
Benjamin Harrison
President #23: 1889-1893
Lived 1833-1901
Lived 1833-1901
↓
Lived 1833-1901
2023
1776
Revolutionary War1776-1783
War of 18121812-1815
Mexican-American War1846-1848
Civil War1861-1865
Spanish-American War1898-1899
World War 11917-1918
World War 21941-1945
Korean War1950-1953
Viet Nam War1964-1975
Desert Storm1990-1991
Bush's Wars2001-2021
Lived 1833-1901
2023
1776
Revolutionary War1776-1783War of 18121812-1815Mexican-American War1846-1848Civil War1861-1865Spanish-American War1898-1899World War 11917-1918World War 21941-1945Korean War1950-1953Viet Nam War1964-1975Desert Storm1990-1991Bush's Wars2001-2021
Maladies & Conditions
· shape · cigar smoker · food poisoning · scarlet fever · hand irritation · pale? · breakdown #1 · breakdown #2 · breakdown #3? · poor stamina · a cold and toothache · wife's death · pneumonia
Odds & Ends ·
Doctors ·
Resources ·
Cited Sources
Maladies and Conditions
Harrison began smoking cigars in 1847-1850. His parents urged him to quit. On January 1, 1858,
he resolved "Stop use of tobacco in every form"
1a.
He did not succeed in quitting, however. An Indianapolis tobacconist kept Harrison supplied
with with cigars while President. Seeing Harrison with a cigar in his hand was "not atypic"
and was captured on film
2a.
As an officer in the Union army during the Civil War, Harrison developed "ptomaine poisoning"
on Nov. 24, 1862 after eating fresh pork
1b.
The term is not used today, and most likely represents some form of food poisoning.
Harrison survived a case of scarlet fever near the end of the Civil War, without sequelae
1b.
As a brigadier general with Sherman's campaign near Atlanta, Harrison developed some type of
irritation on the skin of his hands, requiring him to wear gloves at all times. Bumgarner believes
it may have been contact dermatitis
1b.
The susceptibility became lifelong and ultimately became a political liability: while campaigning
for governor of Indiana in 1870, he became known as "Kidgloves Harrison"
1b.
It has been written about Harrison: "His bearded face was plain and square with white
skin that never tanned"
1c.
After two years as a reporter for the ?Indiana Supreme Court and as a lawyer, Harrison in 1867
nearly suffered a physical breakdown from overwork. His wife, Carrie, nursed him back to health,
and he made some lifestyle changes: he took his first vacation in three years, and he relinquished
his reporting job
1b.
After campaigning in Indiana for re-election to the Senate in 1886, Harrison returned to Washington,
DC "used up." It took two weeks under the care of his doctor, including a diet of
"iron, strychnine, and quinine," to restore his health
1b.
While campaigning for the Presidency in 1888, there were reports that Harrison was near nervous
collapse. These reports were denied, but they probably contained an element of truth
1d.
The stress of the 1888 Presidential campaign demonstrated to Harrison that he should conserve
his strength. There is no record of a physical illness which might have caused such a lack
of endurance in a 56 year old man.
1d.
Nevertheless, Harrison adopted an energy-conserving approach to the Presidency. He only
carried out the laws enacted by Congress and never exerted strong leadership. When he left
office in 1893 his health was as good as, or better than, it was when he entered office
1d.
Mrs. Harrison died in the White House
3a.
No doubt this affected the President, but Dr. Zebra hasn't seen a discussion of this topic.
In 1901 Harrison developed a cold. It worsened. By two days later he had a severe chill, high
fever, and generalized aches and pains. Despite treatment with bed rest, pain relievers, and
steam inhalations, in another 48 hours he developed pleuritic left-sided chest pain (i.e. it
was worse when he inhaled), shortness of breath, and a rapid pulse.
Pneumonia was diagnosed.
Oxygen was administered, and several physicians were called in consultation. Antibiotics would
not be invented for decades. Harrison died the afternoon of March 13, 1901, in the arms of
his wife
1e.
Odds and Ends
- Although not wounded during the Civil War, Harrison assisted in a first-aid station when his regimental surgeon could not be found after the Battle of New Hope Church (1864) 1b.
- The famous Johnstown flood occurred during Harrison's administration, in 1889. Downstream, in Washington, the Potomac River flooded, covering most of the city with diluted sewage 1d.
- Harrison brought electric lights to the White House, but did not trust electricity and refused to touch the switches for fear of shock and death. He had the old gas lights left in place, and the White House continued to use them. 4a.
- Here is Pendel's account of Mrs. Harrison's death
3a:
Dr. Scott, the father of Mrs. Harrison, died in the White House, in the ninety-third year of his age. Mrs. Harrison continued sick; some days she would rally and feel a little better, but finally she grew worse again. About three o'clock in the morning, on one occasion while she was ill, she was suffering a great deal of pain in her side. Most of the servants had gone home, and all the rest of the help about the house was asleep, with the exception of her dressing-maid; she came to the head of the stairs and called for me and my partner to make a fire in the range as soon as we possibly could. We hurried back and cleaned out the range in the pantry and soon had a rousing fire going. In the meantime the maid had hurried down with flaxseed. We put it into the saucepan and soon had it boiling, and she hurried upstairs with a flaxseed poultice and applied it to Mrs. Harrison's side, which gave her a good deal of relief. She lingered along for some time, and finally died in the Garfield Room, which is in the southwest corner of the White House. Her remains were brought down into the East Room, and laid under the centre chandelier.
- A widower after the Presidency, Harrison married his deceased wife's niece. At age 64 he became a father (again). Fearing for their inheritance, his previous children were never reconciled to this second marriage 1e.
- Harrison was described as "little, gray, and cold" 5a.
- Harrison's handshake was "like a wilted petunia" 5a.
- Harrison's grandfather was President William Henry Harrison 6a, who died from pneumonia probably contracted during his inauguration cermemonies in foul weather. Benjamin Harrison always felt he was pre-destined for the Presidency, but when the time for his inauguration came he "wore a complete armor of chamois under his suit. 'No inauguration pneumonia for him!'" 5b
Doctors
During Presidency
Resources
Cited Sources
- Bumgarner, John R. The Health of the Presidents: The 41 United States Presidents Through 1993 from a Physician's Point of View. Jefferson, NC: MacFarland & Company, 1994.
a p.142 b p.143 c p.143, citing Marx (1960) d p.144 e p.145Comment: Devotes one chapter to each President, through Clinton. Written for the layperson, well-referenced, with areas of speculation clearly identified, Dr. Zebra depends heavily on this book. Dr. Bumgarner survived the Bataan Death March and has written an unforgettable book casting a physician's eye on that experience.
- Leish, Kenneth W. (ed.) and other American Heritage Editors. The American Heritage Pictorial History of the Presidents of the United States. New York: American Heritage Publishing, 1968 (in two volumes).
a p.589 with illustration; Thanks to reader Michael Perdue for bringing this to my attention.
- Pendel, Thomas F. Thirty-Six Years in the White House. Washington: Neale Publishing Company, 1902.
a pp.138-139Comment: Pendel was door-keeper at the White House from the time of Lincoln to the time of Theodore Roosevelt. Full text is available on-line at loc.gov. It is a rather dry book, and reads as if it were written by an old man. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?lhbcbbib:1:./temp/~~ammem_rEou::
- Parks, Lillian Rogers. My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House. New York: Fleet Publishing, 1961.
a p.213; this is word-of-mouth lore passed through generations of White House servantsComment: This book stayed on the New York Times best-seller list for 26 weeks, prompting Jacqueline Kennedy to require all staff at the White House to sign a pledge agreeing not to write about their experiences (NY Times, page B8, Nov. 12, 1997). Parks's mother, a maid at the White House from 1909-1939, had actually been encouraged by Eleanor Roosevelt to write and publish a memoir (p260).
- Manners, William. TR and Will: A Friendship that Split the Republican Party. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1969.
a p.29 b p.33
- Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh (ed). Burke's Presidential Families of the United States of America. 2nd ed. London: Burke's Peerage Limited, 1981.
a p.385Comment: Maps -- in great detail -- the ancestors and descendants of American presidents through Ronald Reagan. They would have had an exhausting time with President Obama's family tree! MORE
Other Sources
George Washington · John Adams · Thomas Jefferson · James Madison · James Monroe · John Q. Adams · Andrew Jackson · Martin van Buren · William Harrison · John Tyler · James Polk · Zachary Taylor · Millard Fillmore · Franklin Pierce · James Buchanan · Abraham Lincoln · Andrew Johnson · Ulysses Grant · Rutherford Hayes · James Garfield · Chester Arthur · Grover Cleveland · Benjamin Harrison · Grover Cleveland · William McKinley · Theodore Roosevelt · William Taft · Woodrow Wilson · Warren Harding · Calvin Coolidge · Herbert Hoover · Franklin Roosevelt · Harry Truman · Dwight Eisenhower · John Kennedy · Lyndon Johnson · Richard Nixon · Gerald Ford · James Carter · Ronald Reagan · George Bush · William Clinton · George W. Bush · Barack Obama · Donald Trump · Joseph Biden