Benjamin Harrison — Archive

For this Wacky Whiskers Wednesday we bring you our Whiskered 23rd President of the United States, Benjamin Harrison. As cool as his whiskers are, we didn’t know too many fun facts about Harrison, and are under the assumption you must have a fun presidential factoid always on the ready. Here are some things you may know and some things that may surprise you about Benjamin Harrison:

-Benjamin Harrison was the first and currently only president that was the grandson of a former president. His grandfather was our 9th President, William Henry Harrison.

-Harrison was the first president to use electricity in the White House. Apparently everyone was still weary of getting shocked, so Harrison and his wife often went to sleep with the lights on.

-Until Leslie Knope is elected, Harrison will remain the only US President from Indiana.

-Harrison served in the Civil War and was nominated by Lincoln to the grade of Brevet Brigadier General.

-Harrison was the first President to appoint an African-American in a high ranking role in government. He named Frederick Douglass as US Minister to Haiti in 1889.

-He was only 5’ 6” so Democrats called him “Little Ben.”

-Harrison was the first and only president to lose and election to a previous president. Even though the incumbent Grover Cleveland won the popular vote in the election of 1888 by 90,000 votes, Harrison carried the Electoral College 233 to 168, winning the election. Cleveland came back to win in 1892 over Harrison.

-Harrison was the first president known to have his voice preserved, recording a 36 second speech in 1889 on a wax phonograph cylinder.

-When William Henry Harrison ran for president in the mid-1800s, his staff rolled large spheres between towns on the campaign trail, giving rise to the phrase “keep the ball rolling.” Benjamin Harrison was the only presidential candidate to continue this idea, creating his own “campaign ball.” The aforementioned Leslie Knope visited said campaign ball on Parks & Recreation.