Member-only story

Five Obscure but Interesting 19th Century US Presidents

Daniel G. Jennings
Lessons from History
11 min readJan 16, 2025

Everybody has heard of famous US presidents such as Lincoln, Washington, Teddy Roosevelt, and Jefferson. History buffs know prominent 19th century presidents such as Ulysses S. Grant (R-Ohio), William McKinley (R-Ohio), and James K. Polk (D-Tennessee).

However, even most history buffs are ignorant of most 19th century US presidents. They may not recognize Franklin Pierce (D-New Hampshire) or John Tyler (D-Virginia). Yet those men were presidents.

President Rutherord B. Hayes and his family hanging out at the White House with supporters.

Yet studying obscure presidents can teach us a great deal about the presidency and America. Some interesting 19th century presidents you never heard of include:

1. Benjamin Harrison (R-Indiana)

Benjamin Harrison was the only president who was the grandson of a president. His paternal grandfather was the first Whig President, William Henry Harrison (W-Ohio).

In 1888, Benjamin Harrison became one of five presidents elected without the popular vote. Harrison won the Electoral College by a margin of 58.1% (233 votes) but lost the popular vote to President Grover Cleveland (D-New York) by a margin of 48.6% to 47.8%. Cleveland lost the Electoral College by a margin of 41.9% (168 votes) because of dissension in the Democratic Party.

--

--

Lessons from History
Lessons from History

Published in Lessons from History

Lessons from History is a platform for writers who share ideas and inspirational stories from world history. The objective is to promote history on Medium and demonstrate the value of historical writing.

Daniel G. Jennings
Daniel G. Jennings

Written by Daniel G. Jennings

Daniel G. Jennings is a writer who lives and works in Colorado. He is a lifelong history buff who is fascinated by stocks, politics, and cryptocurrency.

Responses (1)