Death in the White House: President William Henry Harrison's Atypical Pneumonia

Abstract

Historians have long maintained that pneumonia killed William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) just 1 month after he became the ninth president of the United States. For more than a century and a half, it has been alleged that the aged Harrison caught a fatal chill the day he was sworn into office while delivering an overly long inaugural address in wet, freezing weather without a hat, overcoat, and gloves. However, a careful review of the detailed case summary written by his personal physician suggests that enteric fever, not pneumonia per se, was the disorder that carried off "Old Tippecanoe." Two other presidents of that era, James Knox Polk and Zachary Taylor, also developed severe gastroenteritis while in office. Taylor's illness, like Harrison's, proved fatal. In all 3 cases, the illnesses were likely a consequence of the unsanitary conditions that existed in the nation's capital during most of the nineteenth century.

Challenges and Opportunities for Typhoid Fever Control: A Call for Coordinated Action

“…As early as 430 bc , a pernicious plague annihilated half the population of Athens, bringing to an end the “Golden Age of Athens,” and is now believed to have been typhoid fever based on DNA examination of dental pulp [ 1 ]. Typhoid fever is also credited with causing the deaths of several well-known historical figures, including, putatively, Alexander the Great and, almost certainly, former US President William Henry Harrison [ 2 ]. “Typhoid Mary” has become synonymous with the spread of the disease for more than a century [ 3 ], and William Budd, an English physician, demonstrated that typhoid fever could be transmitted through water sources in the 1870s [ 4 ].…”