I imagine many here are open to reading about things not related to the current political situation while we all wait for January 20. The Washington Post carried this story at the end of November. It’s probably behind their paywall, but here’s the link, and here are some paraphrased excerpts from the story.
www.washingtonpost.com/…
John Tyler was born in Virginia in 1790 to a prosperous slave-owning family. A Whig, he became the running mate for William Henry Harrison in 1840. They were elected, and the 68 year old Harrison gave a two-hour inaugural speech in a cold rain, then developed pneumonia and died 31 days later, the shortest Presidential administration in US history.
After confusion and differing opinions on whether a Veep would be an “acting” President, Tyler pushed for his swearing-in as the “full” President, thus establishing that precedent.
Tyler did not get the Whig nomination in 1844. He left office in 1845 and is not considered in the top tier of Presidents. However...”He was the first vice president to assume the presidency upon the death of a president; the first president to have a veto overridden; the first president to endure a House impeachment vote (it failed); the first president to be widowed and to marry while in office; and the president who fathered the most children — 15!” The Tyler male line seems to have a certain…...virility.
Tyler’s second wife was much younger than Tyler, and they had a son born in 1853, Lyon Gardiner Tyler. Lyon also was an “older” father. His youngest son, Harrison Ruffin Tyler, is age 91 and was born when his father was 75. Harrison’s older brother Lyon Jr. died last October aged 95. Harrison lives in a Virginia nursing home.
Imagine telling people today that your Grandfather was born in 1790 and lived through the Presidency of George Washington!
We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.