William Henry Harrison - Born On This Day In 1773

Four American Presidents were born in the month of February. Three of them (George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan) enjoy great popularity today while one of them is largely known only by name ... if that. William Henry Harrison, of the Whig Party, was born on February 9, 1773. There are plenty of books and websites should anyone wish to research Harrison so I will only list three facts about him: 1.) He is known for having the shortest stay in the White House, a mere thirty-two days, 2.) He is known for being the only Grandfather of a President (his Grandson was Benjamin Harrison) and 3.) He had the great misfortune of living to see six out of his nine children pass away.

By the way, although the U.S. Mint's website currently does not have a release date for the William Harrison One Dollar Coin, it will certainly be in bank vaults this month. One online source references a date of February 19, 2009.

Below are some artifacts pertaining to and relating to William Henry Harrison.

Here are four Presidential Campaign Tokens from his successful "Log Cabin" Campaign of 1840 (note his nickname Tippecanoe on one of them as well as the overall variations):

Obverse (two views)

Reverse (two views)

A letter from March 18, 1887, signed by his Grandson, Benjamin, that makes reference to William as "Grand-father".

Close-up of the text:

He did not wear a Wig ... he WAS a Whig! Happy Birthday to William Henry Harrison!!!

Happy 108th Birthday To Frank Woodruff Buckles!!

This is a very special day. Frank Woodruff Buckles, America's last surviving Veteran of World War One, and one of four remaining veterans world wide, turned 108 today. 60 million to 65 million people were involved with The Great War - now there are only four left ... one in America, one in Australia and two in Britain. Corporal Buckles was born on February 1, 1901 in Bethany, Missouri. He enlisted in the War in 1917. In 1919, he met General John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing at the dedication of the National World War I Museum in Kansas City. He worked in Germany on and off in the 1920s and 1930s. In the 1940s, he was a POW of the Japanese in the Philippines. He has indeed led a full life having travelled around the globe for war, for work and for personal interest. He currently resides in West Virginia.

I had the great fortune of meeting Corporal Buckles one week ago. We had a wonderful conversation about a variety of topics including his World War I experiences, his meeting with General Pershing, being a POW in the 1940s, Germany, South America, artifacts, history and working out in addition to others.  We shared a few laughs as well. His memory is excellent - he told me specific details about the 1910s and 1920s. He is fluent in four languages and we briefly spoke to each other in German. I showed him a picture of myself standing in the Giza Plateau with the three Pyramids behind me. He said "Egypt ... I'd like to go there someday". Centenarian status should be of little concern for I believe he can still go there! It was a(n) unique and extraordinary opportunity, an enjoyable experience and an amazing day ... one that I will never forget. In the years and decades to come, I will always look back on our meeting with great appreciation ... and a smile. Here is to you ... Frank W. Buckles, the last of the American Doughboys! Happy 108th Birthday and many more to follow!!

The photographs below are of a custom cachet, an autographed portrait taken by David DeJonge for the World War One Education Project fundraiser and the two of us together on that wonderful day!

Links of interest:

http://www.frankbuckles.org

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vhp-stories/loc.natlib.afc2001001.01070

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=Frank+Buckles&aq=f

UPDATE (July 11, 2024): I never posted the following pictures on the blog entry in 2009 or any other area of the web aside from electronic mail to a small number of people in 2009.  The next two pictures show Frank's hat and Frank's cup when he was a civilian Prisoner Of War.  Finally revealed after more than fifteen years.