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August 6, 2004:
Interesting Facts About Presidents
Interview
with Carter Smith author of the book Presidents:Every
Question Answered
Mike
Carruthers:
Did you know that if you go all the way back to 1840, that's
over a hundred and sixty years…
Carter
Smith:
Every single president up to Ronald Regan that was
elected on an even year died in office.
Carter Smith
author of the book Presidents
says it starts with William Henry Harrison who was elected
in 1840.
1850
Zachary Taylor died in office from illness. 1860 the man elected
then was Lincoln and he died in office, and on and on. And then
Regan was shot but didn't die.
Carter's
book is filled with fascinating facts about all the presidents
like…
The shortest
term in office was exactly one month and that was William Henry
Harrison. He gave the longest inaugural speech in history and
it was on a cold March day as inaugurations used to be in March
not in January and he didn't wear a hat, didn't wear a coat,
caught pneumonia, died a month later.
And there
are some interesting coincidences when it comes to U.S. Presidents.
There
have only been two times when a son of a president has been
elected president, George W. Bush is one of them, the other
is John Quincy Adams. And ironically the 1824 election when
John Quincy Adams was elected president, that was also a controversial
election, it was decided in the House of Representatives. Here
we are all these years later and the next son of a president
has the same thing happen to him.
At somethingyoushouldknow.net,
I'm Mike Carruthers and that's Something You Should Know.
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