William Henry Harrison

The Algonquian word for "southern" is Shawun which applied to a group pushed to the south by stronger tribes. They became fierce warriors and highly respected among other eastern tribes who sought their alliance in struggles against other tribes. They...

1. George Washington had to borrow money to go to his own inauguration. 2. Perhaps the greatest myth of U.S. inauguration history is that William Henry Harrison's long speech in chilly weather caused his death in 1841. True, Harrison didn't wear a hat or...

Today, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the nation's 44th president in a ceremony filled with tradition. Test your knowledge of ceremonies past. 1. Of whose inaugural speech did wordsmith H.L. Mencken say: "It reminds me of a string of wet sponges; it...

We tend to lionize or demonize our presidents. It would be tough to find many Abraham Lincoln detractors -- or, for that matter, many Warren G. Harding fans. But even our greatest heroes occasionally failed, and the worst presidents could boast of some...

The Inaugural Ceremony Inaugurations are organized by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. All presidents must be sworn in, which involves taking the oath of the office. The oath is listed in Article II of the U.S. Constitution: "I...

The 42 men who've been president of the United States share many characteristics besides membership in one of the world's most exclusive clubs. That means, looking at them as a group, we can extract an "average president." The data can't predict who'll...

Americans usually celebrate the likes of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy on President's Day. But rarely are the less stellar commanders in chief ever mentioned, such as William Henry Harrison -- who caught a...

1 George Washington had to borrow money to go to his own inauguration. 2 Perhaps the greatest myth of U.S. inauguration history is that William Henry Harrison's long speech in chilly weather caused his death in 1841. True, Harrison didn't wear a hat or...

Presidential houses are a wonderful way to understand the domestic life of this country's leaders. The Midwest has been historically fertile ground for presidential ambitions, and after the travails of politics, many ex-presidents were content to resettle...

Reading that Gov. Paterson objected to being called the "accidental governor" and suggested that he was being pejoratively singled out in his speech to the NAACP, we decided to check. He's totally wrong. We found 337 stories on Nexis......

As you drive into this historic town, if you're a particularly alert traveler you may glimpse a couple of rather inconspicuous signs along the road noting that a memorial to George Rogers Clark stands in the town. Considering the size of the signs, and...

WASHINGTON - Former President Ronald Reagan will be memorialized at the first presidential state funeral in more than three decades, a ritual rich in traditions from the country's earliest days. Presidents, former presidents and presidents-elect are...