William Henry Harrison was America’s ninth president, serving for only one month from March 4 to his death on April 4, 1841. Harrison made a name for himself as the hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe against Native American Indians who fought against American expansion within the Indiana Territory (um, can you blame them?). Well, back then Harrison was highly regarded for his actions and ran his campaign on the famous “Tippecanoe and Tyler, too” slogan. Harrison also has two other distinctions: he was the last President born a British subject and he was the first President to die in office. Ironically, Harrison contracted pneumonia during his two hour long inaugural address on a cold January winter’s day (his First Lady Anna was not in attendance). William is a name of Germanic origins and means “valiant protector” (he should have protected himself from that cold!) Harrison is also a fairly commonly used male given name in America.
