The passing of a president, whether unexpected like John F. Kennedy's assassination or anticipated as in Ronald Reagan's Alzheimer related death, carries profound significance.
The loss of a sitting president can trigger political turbulence. With 39 U.S. presidents having passed away, it's essential to understand the circumstances of their deaths and their enduring legacies to better comprehend our current political situation.
George Washington died on December 14, 1799, at 67 years old in Mount Vernon, VA. The exact cause of his death is uncertain, though epiglottitis is commonly believed to be the culprit. Before his death, Washington gave his wife two wills, instructing her to burn one and execute the other.
John Adams passed away at 90 on July 4, 1826, in Quincy, MA, from heart failure. His death coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Adams's last words were 'Thomas Jefferson still survives' not knowing Jefferson had died hours earlier.
Thomas Jefferson died at 83 on July 4, 1826, in Charlottesville, VA. His final days were marked by severe symptoms, possibly from prostate cancer. At his death, Jefferson was in debt of $100,000.
James Madison, at 85, died on June 28, 1836, in Orange, VA, of heart failure. He left a statement emphasizing the importance of preserving the Union of the States.
James Monroe died from tuberculosis at 73 on July 4, 1831, in New York City. Initially buried in New York, his remains were later moved to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, VA, where Abraham Lincoln, then a congressman, helped with funeral arrangements.
John Quincy Adams suffered a stroke and died at 80 on February 23, 1848, in Washington, D.C. He had continued his service in the US House of Representatives after his presidency.
Andrew Jackson died at 78 on June 8, 1845, in Nashville, TN, from tuberculosis, despite various health challenges including a musket ball in his lung.
Martin Van Buren died of heart failure at 79 on July 24, 1862, in Kinderhook, NY. He had discussed forming a committee of ex-presidents to prevent the Civil War, but it never materialized.
William Henry Harrison died at 68 on April 4, 1841, in Washington, D.C., likely from typhoid fever. As the first president to die in office, his death raised succession questions, leading to John Tyler being sworn in as president.
John Tyler, at 71, died of a stroke on January 18, 1862, in Richmond, VA. Known as 'His Accidency' for assuming the presidency, he supported the Confederacy and was the only president whose death was not recognized by Washington.
James K. Polk died of cholera at 53 in Nashville, TN, on June 15, 1849, marking the shortest retirement in presidential history.
Zachary Taylor died of gastroenteritis at 65 in Washington, D.C., after attending July 4 ceremonies. Millard Fillmore then assumed the presidency.
Millard Fillmore passed away at 74 from a stroke on March 8, 1874, in Buffalo, NY. He founded the University of Buffalo and faced political challenges post-presidency.
Franklin Pierce died from cirrhosis at 64 on October 8, 1869, in Concord, NH. His heavy drinking worsened his health condition.
James Buchanan died from respiratory failure and gout at 77 on June 1, 1868, in Lancaster, PA. He caught a cold in May that year and couldn't recover.
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th U.S. President, was assassinated at 56 on April 15, 1865, in Washington, D.C., by actor John Wilkes Booth. This marked the first U.S. presidential assassination. Lincoln was in his second term, and the Civil War was ending. Booth, unhappy with the war's outcome, shot him.
Andrew Johnson died at 66 on July 31, 1875, in Carter's Station, TN, from a stroke. After multiple political comebacks, he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1875 but died four months into his term.
Ulysses S. Grant died from throat cancer at 63 on July 23, 1885, in Wilton, NY. Late in life, he wrote about his Civil War experiences. His book, 'Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant' was completed days before his death.
Rutherford B. Hayes died of heart disease at 70 on January 17, 1893, in Fremont, OH. His son Webb Hayes played a crucial role in establishing a presidential library in his honor, setting a precedent for future presidential libraries.
James A. Garfield died at 49 from septic shock caused by a gunshot wound on September 19, 1881, in Elberon, NJ. The shooter, Charles J. Guiteau, was angry about job rejections. Garfield's death was partly due to unsterile medical treatment.
Chester A. Arthur died at 57 from a stroke on November 18, 1886, in New York City. He survived only about a year and a half post-presidency. He ordered the burning of his personal and official papers two days before his death.
Grover Cleveland died at 71 from coronary sclerosis on June 24, 1908, in Princeton, NJ. As the only two-term non-consecutive U.S. president, his last words were âI have tried so hard to do right.â
Benjamin Harrison died at 67 from pneumonia on March 13, 1901, in Indianapolis, IN. He remarried at 62 to his deceased wifeâs 37-year-old niece, causing disapproval from his adult children.
William McKinley died at 58 from gangrene caused by a gunshot wound on September 14, 1901, in Buffalo, NY. Shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz, McKinley showed grace, asking to 'go easy' on his shooter. His legacy is sometimes overshadowed by successor Teddy Roosevelt.
Theodore Roosevelt died from a coronary embolism and rheumatism at 60 on January 6, 1919, in Oyster Bay, NY. Vice President Thomas R. Marshall said, 'Death had to take Roosevelt sleeping, for if he had been awake, there would have been a fight.'
William Howard Taft died from heart disease at 72 on March 8, 1930, in Washington, D.C. After his presidency, he became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, serving until his death.
Woodrow Wilson died from a stroke at 67 on February 3, 1924, in Washington, D.C. He's the only president buried in Washington, D.C., at the National Cathedral.
Warren G. Harding died from a cerebral hemorrhage at 57 on August 2, 1923, in San Francisco, CA. He hid his heart condition from the public. While touring the West Coast, he became ill and died.
Calvin Coolidge died from a heart attack at 60 on January 5, 1933, in Northampton, MA. He resisted running for president in 1932, feeling out of sync with the times.
Herbert Hoover died from massive internal bleeding at 90 on October 20, 1964, in New York City. After losing the 1932 election, he worked to improve his image, eventually becoming a respected senior statesman, a reputation he held at his death.
Franklin D. Roosevelt died from a cerebral hemorrhage at 63 on April 12, 1945, in Warm Springs, GA. As the longest-serving president, he was into his fourth term when he had a stroke during a portrait session with artist Elizabeth Shoumatoff. The painting was never finished, though Shoumatoff later created a second portrait from memory.
Harry S. Truman passed away at 88 from organ failure on December 26, 1972, in Kansas City, MO. His popularity was low when he left office in 1953, but later evaluations of his policies improved his legacy.
Dwight D. Eisenhower died from heart failure at 78 on March 28, 1969, in Washington, D.C. His remains were taken by train to his hometown of Abilene, KS. He saw his vice president, Richard Nixon, become president.
John F. Kennedy was assassinated at 46 by Lee Harvey Oswald on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, TX. The events around his death are still debated, with theories suggesting Oswald might not have acted alone.
Lyndon B. Johnson died at 64 from a heart attack on January 22, 1973, in Johnson City, TX. His death, a month after Truman's, left no living ex-presidents until Nixon resigned in 1974.
Richard Nixon died at 81 from a stroke on April 22, 1994, in New York City. The stroke resulted from a heart clot. Despite his resignation, he had rebuilt his reputation. His funeral was attended by then-President Bill Clinton and former Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush.
Gerald Ford died at 93 from arteriosclerosis on December 26, 2006, in Rancho Mirage, CA, on the 34th anniversary of Harry Truman's death.
Ronald Reagan died at 93 from Alzheimer's and pneumonia on June 5, 2004, in Los Angeles, CA. He battled Alzheimer's for ten years, making few public appearances. His funeral services were held in four locations, and he was buried on June 12 at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, CA.
George H.W. Bush died at 94 on November 30, 2018, eight months after his wife Barbara's death. He had vascular parkinsonism and was hospitalized a day after her death due to a blood infection.
