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James Abram Garfield 20th President of the United States

(March 4, 1881 to September 19, 1881) Nickname: None listed. Born: November 19, 1831, in Orange, Ohio

Died: September 19, 1881, in Elberon, New Jersey

Father: Abram Garfield

Mother: Eliza Ballou Garfield

Married:Lucretia Rudolph (1832-1918), on November 11, 1858

Children: Eliza A. Garfield (1860-63); Harry A. Garfield (1863-1942) James R. Garfield (1865-1950); Mary Garfield (1867-1947); Irvin M. Garfield (1870-1951); Abram Garfield (1872-1958); Edward Garfield (1874-76)

Religion: Disciples of Christ

Education: Attended Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (now Hiram College); Graduated from Williams College (1856)

Occupation: Teacher, public official

Political Party: Republican

Other Government Positions:

Member of Ohio State Senate, 1859-61

Member of U.S. House of Representatives, 1863-80

Elected to United States Senate, 1880

Presidential Salary: $50,000/year

Presidential Election Results: Year Popular Votes Electoral Votes 1880 James A. Garfield 4,453,295 214 Winfield S. Hancock 4,414,082 155

Vice President: Chester A. Arthur (1881)

Cabinet:

Secretary of State James G. Blaine (1881) Secretary of the Treasury William Windom (1881) Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln (1881) Attorney General I. Wayne McVeagh (1881) Postmaster General Thomas L. James (1881) Secretary of the Navy William H. Hunt (1881) Secretary of the Interior Samuel J. Kirkwood (1881)

Supreme Court Appointments:

Associate Justice Stanley Matthews (1881-89)

Notable Events:

1881 On July 2, shot by Charles Julius Guiteau. Garfield died of blood poisoning on September 19.



Internet Biographies:

Historical Documents:

Other Internet Resources:

James A. Garfield National Historic Site Lawnfield, the Mentor, Ohio home of Garfield also houses his presidential library. Tourist information provided by the National Park Service.

Points of Interest:

Garfield was the first left-handed president of the United States.

James Garfield could write Latin with one hand and Greek with the other, at the same time.

The last of seven presidents born in a log cabin, Garfield weighed 10 pounds at birth.

He was the first president to campaign in two languages — English and German.

On election day, November 2, 1880, he was at the same time a member of the House, Senator-elect and President-elect.

His mother was the first president’s mother to attend her son’s inauguration.

At the age of twenty-six, Garfield became president of Hiram College. At the time the school only had five faculty memebers.

After Garfield’s shooting, repeated probing for the bullet with non-sterile instruments resulted in blood poisoning which eventually killed him.

Previous President: Rutherford Birchard Hayes | Next President: Chester Alan Arthur

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