Wars, politics & history

Death of John Tyler

18 January 1862

John Tyler died on 18 January 1862 in Richmond, aged 71. The tenth President of the United States, Tyler was a Virginian who became the first vice president to take over the presidency after a president died, when William Henry Harrison died a month into office in 1841. He insisted that he held the full powers of the office, setting a precedent for later successions. A states' rights Whig, he clashed repeatedly with his own party over a national bank, and he was expelled from it. His administration secured the annexation of Texas in 1845. He later supported Virginia's secession, was elected to the Confederate Congress, and died in 1862 before taking his seat.

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This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.