and 30th President, was born in Plymouth, Vermont. He was the son of a storekeeper.
8/10/1869, Franklin Pearce, US Democrat and 14th President from 1853 to 1857, died in Concord, New Hampshire.
1/6/1868, James Buchanan, American Democrat and 15th President from 1857 to 1861, and the only bachelor President, died in Wheatland, near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, aged 77.
2/11/1865, Warren Harding, American Republican and 29th President, was born near Corsica (now called Blooming Grove), Ohio, the son of a rural doctor.
15/4/1865, The Vice President, Andrew Johnson, was sworn in as President. See 14/4/1856.
14/4/1865. President Lincoln was shot by an assassin. He died the following day, 15/4/1865.The assassin, John Wilkes Booth, a failed actor, was himself shot dead on 26/4/1865. He had entered the Box Seven of Ford’s Theatre and shot the President in the back of the head with a single bullet. The audience was laughing, and few heard the shot. Booth then slashed at a soldier who rushed him, jumped on stage and shouted ‘Thus always to tyrants – the South is avenged’. Booth managed to escape the theatre, but was tracked down by police and federal agents.
President Lincoln was buried on 4/5/1865 at Springfield, Illinois, where he began his legal career and where he married.
8/11/1864. Abraham Lincoln was re-elected President of the USA for a second term. Supported by a coalition of Republicans and War Democrats, Lincoln won 55% of the vote.
2/12/1863, The Capitol Building, Washington DC, USA, was completed. It is the meeting place of Congress.
26/7/1863, Death of Sam Houston, US soldier and First President of the Republic of Texas (1836-8 and 1841-4) after whom the city is named.
24/7/1862, Martin van Buren, American Democrat and 8th President from 1837 to 1841, died in Kinderhook, New York.
18/1/1862, John Tyler, American Whig and 10th President from 1841 to 1845, died in Richmond, Virginia.
6/11/1860. Abraham Lincoln , Republican, was elected 16th President of the USA, with 39.9% of the vote; the Democratic vote was split between two candidates, John C Breckinridge (Southern Democrat) and John Bell (Constitutional Union Party). However Lincoln was anti-slavery. In response, seven southern pro-slavery States seceded from the Union.
16/5/1860, Abraham Lincoln won the Republican nomination for Presidency of the United States, as a compromise candidate.
27/10/1858, Theodore Roosevelt, American Republican and 26th President, was born in New York City, the son of a port officer. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the Russo-Japanese war.
15/9/1857, William Howard Taft, American Republican and 27th President, was born in Cincinnati.
28/12/1856, Woodrow Wilson, American Democrat and 28th President 1913-21, was born in Staunton, Virginia, the son of a Presbyterian Minister.
9/7/1850, Zachary Taylor, American general and Whig, 12th US President for only 16 months, died in Washington DC. The remainder of his term was completed by Millard Fillmore.
15/6/1849, James Knox Polk, American Democrat and 11th President from 1845 to 1849, died in Nashville, Tennessee.
23/2/1848, John Quincy Adams, 6th American President from 1825 to 1829, died in the White House.
8/6/1845, Andrew Jackson, American General and Democrat politician, 7th President from 1829 to 1837, died at the Hermitage in Nashville, Tennessee.
4/3/1845. The Democrat Charles Polk was sworn in as 11th President of the USA, following his landslide victory in the November 1944 elections. He strongly supported further westwards expansion of the USA.
29/1/1843, William McKinley, Republican and 25th President, was born in Niles, Ohio, son of an iron manufacturer.
4/4/1841, William Harrison, 9th American President, died after only 31 days in office due to catching pneumonia during his inauguration. His term of office was completed by Vice President John Tyler.
28/6/1836, James Madison, 4th American President from 1809 to 1817, died in Montpelier, Virginia, aged 85.
20/8/1833, Benjamin Harrison, American Republican and 23rd President, was born in North Bend, Ohio. He was the so