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Rare Lincoln Photo Found in Grant Album

What may be the last photo to be taken of Abraham Lincoln before his death has surfaced in an a photo album of Ulysses S. Grant. Ulysses S. Grant VI, President Grant’s great-great-grandson, was recently looking at a White House photo in the album and noticed a tall man in the distance. He contacted a Lincoln photography collector who examined the photo and identified the figure as Lincoln. Upon removal of the photo from the album, a handwritten description was discovered on the back: “Lincoln in front of the White House.” Also on the back was the date 1865 and the photographer’s seal.

There are only around 130 known photographs of Abraham Lincoln making any photo of him rare, but this photo would be the only known photo of Lincoln in front of the White House. Based on the photographer’s seal and other known information, it is estimated the picture was taken in March of 1865. Since Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865, it may very well be the last photo taken of him before his death.

10 Interesting Facts About William Taft

10. Play ball!

Taft was the first president to throw the first ball of baseball season, beginning a tradition that continues today. The game was a 1910 game between the Washington Senators and the Philadelphia Athletics. The Senators won 3-0.

9. Tone deaf

Taft was tone deaf and had to be nudged whenever the national anthem was played.

8. First to own a car

Taft was the first president to own a car. He converted the stables into a garage.

7. Last to have a cow

Taft was the last president to keep a cow at the White House to provide fresh milk. Her name was Pauline. Continue reading “10 Interesting Facts About William Taft”

10 Interesting Facts About Theodore Roosevelt

10. First to leave the country

Roosevelt was the first president to travel outside of the continental United States while in office. In 1906, he traveled to Panama.

9. Church and State

Although Roosevelt had been a Sunday school teacher, he believed strongly in the separation of Church and State. While taking the oath of office during his inauguration after McKinley’s assassination, he did not swear on the Bible.

When the $20 gold coin was designed in 1907, the words “In God We Trust” were not present. In a letter written by Roosevelt, he said it was irreverent to have the words printed on the coins because the money was used to buy worldly goods and services. After public outcry, Congress passed legislation requiring “In God We Trust” be restored to all U.S. coins which it had been previously printed on.

8. Nobel Peace Prize

In 1906, Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role of negotiator in the Russo-Japanese War. He was the first American to win the Nobel Prize.

7. A multitasking homeschooler

Roosevelt’s education was mostly homeschooling by his parents and tutors. He was an avid reader and developed a photographic memory. It is said he was a great multitasker, able to dictate letters and memos to two separate secretaries while browsing through a book at the same time. Continue reading “10 Interesting Facts About Theodore Roosevelt”

10 Interesting Facts About William McKinley

10. First in an automobile

McKinley was the first president to ride in an automobile while in office. After he was shot, he was transported to the hospital in an electric ambulance.

9. McKinley showed compassion for his assassin

After Leon Frank Czolgosz shot McKinley, the crowd subdued him and began to beat him severely. The wounded McKinley shouted “Boys! Don’t let them hurt him!”

8. Telephone campaign

McKinley was the first president to use a telephone to campaign.

7. Presidential war buddies

During the Civil War, McKinley’s commanding officer was Rutherford B. Hayes, who also became President of the United States. Continue reading “10 Interesting Facts About William McKinley”

10 Interesting Facts About Benjamin Harrison

10. A President’s grandson

Benjamin Harrison was the grandson of  President William Henry Harrison, the 9th President of the United States. Benjamin was seven years old when his grandfather was elected president.

9. First electricity in the White House

Harrison was the first president to use electricity in the White House, installed by Edison General Electric Company. However, he and his wife would not touch the light switches for fear of being electrocuted and often went to bed with the lights left on.

8. Harrison was a big talker

Once, over a period of thirty days, Harrison made 140 completely different speeches.

7. Indiana roots

Benjamin Harrison was the first and only president from Indiana. Continue reading “10 Interesting Facts About Benjamin Harrison”

10 Interesting Facts About Chester Arthur

10. A sharp dressed man

Arthur was sometimes called “elegant Arthur” for his interest in fashionable attire and on his last day in office, four young women offered to marry him. It was said he had over eighty pairs of pants and often changed them several times a day.

9. A skilled fisherman

Arthur belonged to the Restigouche Salmon Club, a group of fishermen from New York who traveled to Canada to fish. A skilled fisherman, he once reportedly caught an eighty pound bass off the coast of Rhode Island.

8. Late night strolls

Arthur liked to take friends on late night walks around Washington, D.C., sometimes as late as three or four in the morning. It was rare for him to be in bed before two o’clock.

7. Arthur requested standardized time

At the request of President Arthur, the International Meridian Conference was held in Washington, D.C. in October 1884 to determine the Prime Meridian of the world.  The conference established the Greenwich Meridian and international standardized time, which are both still recognized today. Continue reading “10 Interesting Facts About Chester Arthur”