William Henry Harrison: A Life from Beginning to End

Biographies of US Presidents - Hourly History #9

by Hourly History

Discover the remarkable life of William Henry Harrison...

William Henry Harrison—the man who holds the record for the shortest tenure as a United States president—was in office for barely a month before he abruptly perished. For most, this is where the story of William Henry Harrison ends as just a mere footnote in history, but his life was much more than those last fitful few weeks.

Harrison had quite a career prior to his foray into the presidency. He served as a heroic and capable military commander and fought with distinction in the War of 1812. He was also responsible for concluding numerous treaties with native tribes, acquiring many millions of acres of land for American settlers. Yes, his life was indeed more than just that lone month he served as president. Here in this book, we will explore the life and legacy of William Henry Harrison in full.

Discover a plethora of topics such as
Early Life at Berkeley Plantation
Eloped to get Married
Old Tippecanoe
Time in South America
Log Cabins and Hard Cider
A Cold and Dreary Inauguration Day
And much more!

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Presidents, American History

42 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 27, 2022

About the author

At Hourly History, we focus on publishing history books that are concise, straightforward and take no longer than one hour to read.

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Reviews

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shamefully, I've only had brief encounters with my own ninth presidents name in high school and college history courses- and by brief, I mean a few sentences in reference to either his military career or his part in the line of presidents/political parties.

I was glad to finally get his background and a bit more to fill in WHH as a person who had many accomplishments and not just the achievement of making it into the White House. I never realized he was only there for a couple months at the most.

Son of Virginia plantation aristocracy, Northwest Territory military veteran and successful leader in War of 1812 skirmishes, Indiana territory governor, state governor, fought Tecumseh in Fallen Timbers, briefly a US ambassador in South America, state government, US senate, and a Whig candidate for the Presidency. I thought it was fascinating how he was distinguished for not having a clear political platform so we can never really know how he would have really governed the country had he lived. Glad to finally get a quick, but better picture of him.

[F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe I don't know enough about him or maybe he is far enough removed that the author had no way to tie Harrison to an agenda or maybe the author, this time, hasn't got an agenda- whatever the case, this was an interesting and enjoyable read.
I knew next to nothing about Harrison and now I know more than I did [duh]. The story of his father's comment while signing a potentially treasonous document [moot since America won the Revolutionary War] was worth the time reading the book. Harrison's life was interesting enough and then you throw in his short-lived presidency and well, you have the makings of a good short biography... and here we have it.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 4 out of 5]

William Henry Harrison was the first president to die in office; he was only in office for about a month. His vice-president, John Tyler, replaced Harrison. Nevertheless, Harrison had a vigorous life before entering the White House. I was surprised to hear of his many accomplishments.

William Henry Harrison was the son of Benjamin Harrison V, a delegate of the Continental Congress, the formal representative body during the American Revolutionary War. So, Harrison had political roots. Over his career, Harrison was a territorial governor, a congressman, a state senator, a US senator, and an ambassador to Gran Colombia. By the time he ran for president, Harrison had a wide variety of experiences in politics. Although Harrison lost to Martin Van Buren the first time around, Van Buren made a mess of things. Nevertheless, Harrison easily defeated Van Buren in the rematch.

Harrison's death from pneumonia came as a total shock to the country. Because he was the first to die in office, there was no precedent for presidential funerals. This short, direct story was about Harrison, an attractive man who was only president for thirty-one days.

[Elizabeth Schroeder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a huge fan of these abbreviated history books, but given the abbreviated tenure of President Harrison and that anything else written about him was so old, I chose this one in my presidential biography journey. For a summary of a brief presidency, it was fine -- I find it hard to believe that more was not documented even of his personal life, but again, that may merit checking out one of the older books written about him. But for a book about this blink-and-you'll-miss-him President, this one was, again, fine.

[Bonnie Gleckler Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Henry Harrison Who?

Honestly, I did not remember much about our 9th President of The United States of America. So, I chose to ready this “Hourly History” to simply find out more about him. This read was an eye-opener for me. Who knew he was as actively involved in the expansion of our country, and as influential in Foreign affairs.

[Ginger Zimmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read about a former president

A very great and concise read about President William Henry Harrison. Although his was the shortest presidency in history, throughout his lifetime, he made grade an impact on our country.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written!

Both the positive and not so positive aspects of Harrison’s life are presented in this short book. Impressive and enlightening.

[George Polansky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good review.

[Len Martin]

Good short history!

Great synopsis! I learned a lot that I did not know. I would recommend this to anyone that I know.

[Douglas Larson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A concise portrayal of the first President to die in office and the shortest term of any President. He died 31 days after his inauguration.

[Robin Dix · Rating 4 out of 5]

A man who could have done great things for this country.

[Kevin Vogelsang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, concise, easy to read. Great introduction to this president.

[Tony Mistretta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short book about the life of William Henry Harrison, the 9th president of the United States. I liked it because it was brief but informative and easy to read.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had just visiting William Henry Harrison's home when I remembered I had this on my Kindle. Interesting.

[Joni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read

The book grabbed my interest in the beginning and did a good job of portraying the man and not just the politician.