The Freezing Inauguration that Led to a US President’s Death

Sat Jan 18 2025
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Key points

  • President William Henry Harrison is remembered for the shortest-term
  • Inauguration started with a morning low temperature of 34F
  • 68 years old Harrison wore no hat or coat and rode a horse to Capitol
  • Delivered the longest speech in rain and cold
  • President caught a cold leading to pneumonia and death

ISLAMABAD: President William Henry Harrison is remembered, by people, as the president with the longest inauguration speech but the shortest stint in the history of the United States (US).

According to Fox Weather, in Washington, DC, March 4, 1841, is recalled as more than just an extremely wet and cold day. Those weather conditions are notoriously famous for one of the most infamous presidential inauguration ceremonies in America’s history.

They are blamed for the death of President William Henry Harrison, who remained the president for a very short time.

Extremely cold weather

The National Weather Service said Harrison’s Inauguration Day started with a morning low temperature of 34 degrees which eventually reached 51 degrees in the afternoon.

It was raining on that day, however, there are no reliable records that show how much rain fell that day.

The then President-elect Harrison wore no hat, coat, or gloves when he was receiving the Oath of Office for becoming the 9th President of the United States of America.

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Death of William H. Harrison on April 4, 1841. Daniel Webster, Dr. Hawley F. Granger and William Harrison—Photo from Social Media

Standing in rain

The 68-year-old delivered while standing in the cold and the rain, the longest inauguration speech in the history of the US consisting of 8,445 words in under two hours, according to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC).

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William Henry Harrison, circa 1813. Artist Rembrandt Peale. —Photo by Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images

According to the JCCIC, while most presidents, in the past, rode a carriage to their inauguration, Harrison, on the other hand, rode from the White House to the Capitol on a horse surrounded by close political allies.

An exhibit from the Library of Congress records that President Harrison, after that, attended three different inaugural balls in the evening.

The bad weather is responsible for President Harrison catching a cold, which led to pneumonia and Harrison’s death in one month.

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