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Benjamin Harrison was born on August 20, 1833 in North Bend,
Ohio. His father was John Scott Harrison (son of the 10th
U.S. President, William Henry Harrison) and his mother was
Elizabeth Ramsey Irwin Harrison. He was a graduate of Miami
University of Ohio and served as our nation’s 23rd
President from March 4, 1889 to March 3, 1893. He was the
great-grandson of Benjamin Harrison, a signer of The
Declaration of Independence.
Mr. Harrison was a lawyer. He served as a U.S. Senator from
1881 to 1887. In the election of 1888, Mr. Harrison actually
lost the popular vote to incumbent President Grover Cleveland,
but he won the electoral vote and became President
nonetheless, only to be defeated four years later by the same
Mr. Cleveland. Benjamin Harrison was the first President to
have his voice recorded. Mr. Thomas A. Edison, inventor of the
phonograph, personally made that recording on a wax cylinder.
The sound recording of Benjamin Harrison’s voice survives to
this very day.
Benjamin Harrison married Caroline Lavinia Scott in 1853. They
had two children: Russell and Mary. Mrs. Harrison died in
1892, while President Harrison was still in office. In 1896,
former President Harrison re-married. His second wife was Mary
Scott Lord Dimmick. They had one daughter together: Elizabeth.
President Benjamin Harrison died on March 13, 1901 in
Indianapolis, Indiana. He was 67 years old. |
