President of the Day

What did Harrison do after leaving the White House?

Perhaps the most surprising thing he did--especially to his children--was that he married a woman twenty-five years younger than him, Mary Scott Lord Dimmick, his first wife's niece. His children adamantly opposed the union. He also resumed the practice of law and wrote a great deal. He served as counsel for the country of Venezuela in a border dispute with British Guiana. President William McKinley appointed him to the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

What books did he author during his retirement?

He wrote two books in his retirement period--This Country of Ours (1897) and Views of an Ex-President (1901).

After whom was Benjamin named?

He was named after his paternal uncle, Dr. Benjamin Harrison, and his great-grandfather, Benjamin Harrison V, who signed the Declaration of Independence.

What did Harrison do as a U.S. senator?

He supported the Pendleton Act, which provided much needed civil service reform. He supported measures to give Union veterans healthy pensions. He supported measures to improve the navigation of the Mississippi River. He also promoted federal aid for educational efforts, particularly in the South. He also opposed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. He later served as chairman of the Territories Committee in the Senate.

What famous anti-trust law did he sign in 1890?

Harrison signed into law the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. This important law sought to curb the excesses of big business monopolies. Named after prominent U.S. senator John Sherman, the law is still the most important piece of antitrust legislation in the United States.

From The Handy Presidents Answer Book, Second Edition by David L. Hudson, Jr., JD., (c) Visible Ink Press(R) More than 1,600 things you never knew about our nation's leaders