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Health and Medical History of President Benjamin HarrisonPresident #23: 1889-1893
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Lived 1833-1901
2021
1776
 Revolutionary War1776-1783War of 18121812-1815Mexican-American War1846-1848Civil War1861-1865Spanish-American War1898-1899World War 11917-1918World War 21941-1945Korean War1950-1953Viet Nam War1964-1975Desert Storm1990-1991Bush's War2001-Now |
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 cigar smoker |
Harrison began smoking cigars in 1847-1850. His parents urged him to quit. On January 1, 1858,
he resolved "Stop use of tobacco in every form"
1a.
He did not succeed in quitting, however. An Indianapolis tobacconist kept Harrison supplied
with with cigars while President. Seeing Harrison with a cigar in his hand was "not atypic"
and was captured on film
2a.
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  food poisoning |
As an officer in the Union army during the Civil War, Harrison developed "ptomaine poisoning"
on Nov. 24, 1862 after eating fresh pork
1b.
The term is not used today, and most likely represents some form of food poisoning.
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scarlet fever |
Harrison survived a case of scarlet fever near the end of the Civil War, without sequelae
1b.
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 hand irritation |
As a brigadier general with Sherman's campaign near Atlanta, Harrison developed some type of
irritation on the skin of his hands, requiring him to wear gloves at all times. Bumgarner believes
it may have been contact dermatitis
1b.
The susceptibility became lifelong and ultimately became a political liability: while campaigning
for governor of Indiana in 1870, he became known as "Kidgloves Harrison"
1b.
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pale? |
It has been written about Harrison: "His bearded face was plain and square with white
skin that never tanned"
1c.
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  breakdown #1 |
After two years as a reporter for the ?Indiana Supreme Court and as a lawyer, Harrison in 1867
nearly suffered a physical breakdown from overwork. His wife, Carrie, nursed him back to health,
and he made some lifestyle changes: he took his first vacation in three years, and he relinquished
his reporting job
1b.
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breakdown #2 |
After campaigning in Indiana for re-election to the Senate in 1886, Harrison returned to Washington,
DC "used up." It took two weeks under the care of his doctor, including a diet of
"iron, strychnine, and quinine," to restore his health
1b.
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breakdown #3? |
While campaigning for the Presidency in 1888, there were reports that Harrison was near nervous
collapse. These reports were denied, but they probably contained an element of truth
1d.
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poor stamina |
The stress of the 1888 Presidential campaign demonstrated to Harrison that he should conserve
his strength. There is no record of a physical illness which might have caused such a lack
of endurance in a 56 year old man.
1d.
Nevertheless, Harrison adopted an energy-conserving approach to the Presidency. He only
carried out the laws enacted by Congress and never exerted strong leadership. When he left
office in 1893 his health was as good as, or better than, it was when he entered office
1d.
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 a cold and toothache |
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wife's death |
Mrs. Harrison died in the White House
3a.
No doubt this affected the President, but Dr. Zebra hasn't seen a discussion of this topic.
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  pneumonia |
In 1901 Harrison developed a cold. It worsened. By two days later he had a severe chill, high
fever, and generalized aches and pains. Despite treatment with bed rest, pain relievers, and
steam inhalations, in another 48 hours he developed pleuritic left-sided chest pain (i.e. it
was worse when he inhaled), shortness of breath, and a rapid pulse.
Pneumonia was diagnosed.
Oxygen was administered, and several physicians were called in consultation. Antibiotics would
not be invented for decades. Harrison died the afternoon of March 13, 1901, in the arms of
his wife
1e.
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Dr. Scott, the father of Mrs. Harrison, died in the White House, in the ninety-third year of his age. Mrs. Harrison continued sick; some days she would rally and feel a little better, but finally she grew worse again. About three o'clock in the morning, on one occasion while she was ill, she was suffering a great deal of pain in her side. Most of the servants had gone home, and all the rest of the help about the house was asleep, with the exception of her dressing-maid; she came to the head of the stairs and called for me and my partner to make a fire in the range as soon as we possibly could. We hurried back and cleaned out the range in the pantry and soon had a rousing fire going. In the meantime the maid had hurried down with flaxseed. We put it into the saucepan and soon had it boiling, and she hurried upstairs with a flaxseed poultice and applied it to Mrs. Harrison's side, which gave her a good deal of relief. She lingered along for some time, and finally died in the Garfield Room, which is in the southwest corner of the White House. Her remains were brought down into the East Room, and laid under the centre chandelier.
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a p.142 b p.143 c p.143, citing Marx (1960) d p.144 e p.145
Comment: Devotes one chapter to each President, through Clinton. Written for the layperson, well-referenced, with areas of speculation clearly identified, Dr. Zebra depends heavily on this book. Dr. Bumgarner survived the Bataan Death March and has written an unforgettable book casting a physician's eye on that experience.
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a p.589 with illustration; Thanks to reader Michael Perdue for bringing this to my attention.
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a pp.138-139
Comment: Pendel was door-keeper at the White House from the time of Lincoln to the time of Theodore Roosevelt. Full text is available on-line at loc.gov. It is a rather dry book, and reads as if it were written by an old man. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?lhbcbbib:1:./temp/~~ammem_rEou::
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a p.29 b p.33
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a p.385
Comment: Maps -- in great detail -- the ancestors and descendants of American presidents through Ronald Reagan. They would have had an exhausting time with President Obama's family tree! MORE
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