William Henry Harrison

Pursued classical studies; attended Hampden-Sidney College, Virginia; studied medicine; entered the Army in 1798 as an ensign in the First Infantry, served in the Indian wars, and rose to the rank of lieutenant; resigned from the Army in 1798; appointed secretary of the Northwest Territory 1798-1799; elected as a Delegate from the Northwest Territory to the 6th Congress (4 Mar 1799 - 14 May 1800); resigned to become Territorial Governor of Indiana (13 May 1800 - 28 Dec 1812) and also Indian commissioner; defeated the Indians at Tippecanoe (7 Nov 1811); major general in the US Army in the War of 1812; resigned from the Army in 1814; head commissioner to treat with the Indians; elected to the 14th Congress to fill a vacancy; reelected to the 15th Congress (8 Oct 1816 - 3 Mar 1819); unsuccessful candidate for governor, Ohio in 1820; member, State senate (1819-1821); presidential elector in Ohio in 1822; unsuccessful candidate for House of Representatives in 1822; elected to the Senate (4 Mar 1825 - 20 May 1828); Minister to Colombia (1828-1829); chairman, Committee on Military Affairs (19th and 20th Congresses); unsuccessful Whig candidate for president in 1836 (lost the election to Democrat Martin Van Buren); elected President of the United States (1840); died of pneumonia one month after his inauguration.