FUN WITH MAPS – ISSUE 2023-25 DAILY FEATURE:

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (February 9, 2023) – In today’s edition of Fun with Maps from Steve Kovacs, we learn about some presidential firsts and a very short stay in the White House – the shortest of all in fact.

SHORT SERVED

If he was still alive, today would be William Henry Harrison’s 250th birthday.  While he did not have time to have much influence as President, he still holds several Presidential records.

Harrison, the 9th President, had the shortest term in office – only 31 days, his death starting with a cold he caught on Inauguration Day.  He was the first President to die in office, causing a Constitutional scramble to define succession for the office — eventually the Vice President John Tyler became President.

Some more firsts and lasts: He was the first Governor of the Indiana Territory and was the last President to be born a British subject, in 1773 before the Revolution.

He is part of the only grandfather/grandson Presidential pair.  He is the paternal grandfather of Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd President of the United States.

You can visit the elder Harrison’s grave at the Harrison Tomb Memorial, just off Route 50 in North Bend, Ohio.

So, which map to use?  Choices are: Harrison’s birth state of Virginia, Indiana, where he won the key Battle of Tippecanoe and later became Governor, or Ohio, where he settled in the 1830’s and where he was buried.  Ohio and Indiana tied for first place at the end in the mental battle.

Thus, here is Tanner’s 1819 map of Ohio and Indiana.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.