William Henry Harrison Personality

William Henry Harrison was born on February 9, 1773, on a Virginia plantation to Elizabeth Bassett and Benjamin Harrison V. His family was very well-connected and had deep roots within the “planter aristocracy.” Harrison was the youngest of six other children including two brothers and four sisters named in order: Carter Bassett Harrison, Benjamin Harrison VI, Anne Harrison, Elizabeth Harrison Rickman Edmondson, Lucy Harrison Randolph Singleton, Sarah Harrison Minge. His father, Benjamin, had signed the Declaration of Independence when Harrison was only three years old, and his eldest brother, Carter, served in the U.S. House of Representatives. This early exposure to government greatly influenced Harrison’s future because he became more open

The Reverend Timothy Flint, a frequent visitor to his home at North Bend, Ohio, described him as urbane, hospitable, kind, and utterly unpretentious. To expand further on what Harrison’s personality and character was like, the article William Harrison on the website Spangled With Stars writes:

[…] William Harrison is described as being genial, kind and good humored, at odds with his somewhat stern appearance. He was frank, direct and humble, without airs and graces. He was also a cautious man whose nickname "General Mum" reflected his caution and his avoidance of speaking out on controversial issues.

Although interested in politics, it was not Harrison’s first occupation. He had established a very successful horse breeding enterprise by the end of the eighteenth century. So successful, in fact, that he was considered to be one of the most distinguished breeders in the Northwest Territory (the region north of the Ohio River that consisted of present-day Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and the eastern part of

This point comes up in Christopher Klein’s Did William Henry Harrison’s inauguration speech kill him?:

It is unlikely, however, that the long-winded speech caused the president’s death because he didn’t become sick, complaining of anxiety and fatigue, until more than three weeks after his inauguration. Plus Harrison’s lung ailments didn’t arise until the fifth day of his illness and were not nearly as relentless or progressive as the severe abdominal discomfort and constipation he experienced.

It is believed that it was not the Inagural speech Harrison gave that killed him but, rather, the White House itself. Or more specifically, the water supply. According to The White House killed William Henry Harrison, written by Lillian Cunningham:

Dr. Philip A. Mackowiak of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, along with Jane McHugh, conducted a modern-day medical investigation into the causes of Harrison's death, in 1841, and discovered that his primary illness was typhoid fever — which he contracted through the White House's contaminated water system. This now seems almost certain to be the source of the diseases that killed subsequent presidents James K. Polk and Zachary Taylor as