Timeline Description: William Henry Harrison was the ninth president of the United States. He served the shortest term in the history of the country, because he passed away after only thirty-two days in office. He was the second oldest president, beat out only by Ronald Reagan.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1773 | William Harrison is born William was born on a plantation in Virginia. He was born into a political family, and his father was one of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence. |
| 1787 | Harrison's schooling William attended the Presbyterian Hampden-Sydney College until 1790. Then he left the school and attended an academy in Southampton County. |
| 1791 | Harrison is left with nothing In 1791, Harrison's father died. It left him with no money, so he had to leave school and join the army. |
| 1792 | Harrison's work in the army (1792-1795) Harrison advanced quickly in the army. He helped end the Northwest Indian War and signed the Treaty of Greenville which allowed settlers to move into the Ohio territory. |
| 1795 | Harrison's marriage Harrison met Anna Symmes, and the couple eloped without her family's permission. However, they quickly settled down and eventually had ten children! |
| 1797 | The beginning of his political career Harrison retired from the army and, with some friends' help, he was able to become the Secretary of the Northwest Territory. This was the beginning of his political career. |
| 1799 | Harrison moves into Congress Many of the people during this time disliked the high land costs, as well as other high costs. William Harrison made many promises to lower prices, and he was elected to the Congress as a representative of the Northwest Territory. |
| 1800 | Two states instead of one Harrison continued lowering the price of land, as well as working to allow more people to own land. In 1800 he successfully split the Ohio territory into two; Indiana and Ohio. |
| 1803 | Expansion in the territories Once he had the territories split, Mr. Harrison wanted to expand and eventually make them into states. He was given authority by President Jefferson to negotiate with the Indians for more land. |
| 1809 | Indian tensions Over the years, as Mr. Harrison purchased more and more Indian land, tension with the Indians grew. It likely led to the Indians joining with the British to fight Americans in the War of 1812. |
| 1816 | US House of Representatives After his work in the war, Mr. Harrison moved on to serve in the US House of Representatives. From there, he went on to serve in the Senate. |
| 1829 | Ambassador to Colombia In 1820 Mr. Harrison ran for Ohio governor and lost. He moved on to work in Congress and the Senate until he was appointed an ambassador to Colombia for a few years. |
| 1836 | An unsuccessful election After being in retirement for a few years, Harrison returned to politics to run for president. He was beat out by Martin Van Buren. |
| 1840 | Another run for the presidency Harrison returned to the election scene for a second time, and this time he was successful. He beat out Martin Van Buren just as Van Buren had beaten him before. |
| 1841 | Harrison's death A few months into his presidency, Harrison got a bad cold. It worsened as the weeks went by, and on April 4 he died, making him the first American president to die while in office. |