Before becoming President, James Garfield was successful as professor, college president, Civil War general, and U.S. Congressman. He spoke and wrote well, read widely, and even composed poetry. He loved to entertain his friends by writing Greek with one hand and at the same time writing Latin with the other.

November 19, 1831		Born in Orange, Ohio.
1856		Graduated from Williams College.
1857		Named president of the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (now Hiram College).
November 11, 1858		Married Lucretia Rudolph.
1859		Elected to the Ohio State Senate.
1862		Became the youngest Brigadier General in the Union Army.
1862		Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
1876		Served on the commission that settled the Hayes-Tilden presidential election.
1880		Elected to the U.S. Senate.
1880		Elected President of the United States.
July 2, 1881		Shot by Charles Guiteau.
September 19, 1881		Died in Elberon, New Jersey.

Notes and Trivia

At one time in 1880, Garfield actually held three federal government positions at the same time. He was serving in the U.S. House of Representatives when the Ohio Senate elected him to the U.S. Senate; before he could take his Senate seat, however, he was elected President of the United States.

James Abram Garfield National Historic Site. www.nps.gov/jaga/

Ohio

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This page was last updated on 11/03/2011.