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Sunday 31 May 2015

Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd president of the United States between 1889-1893.

Benjamin was born on August 20, 1833, in North Bend, Ohio, as the second of eight children to John Scott Harrison and Elizabeth Ramsey (Irwin).

Benjamin was the grandson of William Henry Harrison. He was the only president to be the grandson of a former president.

The Republican candidate, Harrison was elected to the White House in 1888, beating Grover Cleveland.

Official White House portrait of Benjamin Harrison, painted by Eastman Johnson

After Benjamin Harrison served one full four-year term as president, Cleveland ran again and, this time, beat Harrison.

Benjamin Harrison was the first president to use electricity in the White House. After he got a nasty shock, however, his family refused to touch any of the switches and would sometimes go to bed with the lights on.

Benjamin Harrison became the first president to attend a baseball game while in office when he watched the Cincinnati Reds defeat the Washington Senators 7-4 in 11 innings on June 6, 1892. Harrison was a big baseball fan, and and had attended games before becoming president. He even threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

While living in the White House, President Benjamin Harrison had two opossums named Mr. Reciprocity and Mr. Protection.

He was the last US president to have had a beard.

1896 Pach Brothers studio photograph of United States President Benjamin Harrison.

Besides being president, Benjamin Harrison was a successful lawyer. He argued many cases before the United States Supreme Court.

After leaving office in 1887, Harrison moved to San Francisco, California, where he taught at Stanford University.

Harrison developed what was thought to be influenza or grippe in February 1901. He was treated with steam vapor inhalation and oxygen, but his condition worsened. He died from pneumonia at his home at 4.45 in the afternoon on March 13, 1901, at the age of 67.

Harrison is interred in Indianapolis's Crown Hill Cemetery, next to his first wife Caroline. After her death, his second wife Mary Dimmick Harrison was buried next to him

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