William Henry Harrison

Harrison rose to national prominence as a frontier military leader—most famously at Tippecanoe—and built a long public career as territorial governor and federal legislator. His 1840 "Log Cabin" campaign helped define modern political campaigning by emphasizing personal image and popular appeal.

His one-month presidency, cut short by his death, prompted the first practical resolution of presidential succession when Vice President John Tyler assumed the office. Harrison is remembered more for his military successes and the 1840 campaign than for presidential accomplishments, and for the constitutional precedent his death established.

Victorious at Tippecanoe (1811) and at the Battle of the Thames (1813); Served as governor of the Indiana Territory and as a U.S. congressman and senator; Whig nominee who won the 1840 "Log Cabin" campaign; Delivered an unusually long inaugural address on March 4, 1841; Died April 4, 1841 after 31 days in office, the shortest presidency; His death produced the first full presidential succession when Vice President John Tyler assumed the office