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Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901) |
The birthplace of Benjamin Harrison was in North Bend, Ohio on his grandfather's farm. He was named for his great-grandfather, Benjamin Harrison, who had signed the Declaration of Independence. His grandfather William Henry Harrison was president when Benjamin was just a child. Benjamin Harrison was the first president to sign his papers under an electric light.
During Benjamin Harrison's presidency the first four American battleships were built (1889), the first Pan-American Conference was held (1889), six states joined the Union (Washington, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana in 1889 and the states of Idaho and Wyoming in 1890), the International Copyright Act passed (1891), and Oklahoma was opened for settlement (1889).
Benjamin Harrison and his first wife, Caroline Scott Harrison, were the parents of two children, Russell and Mary. Mary and her children lived in the White House with her mother and father during Benjamin Harrison's presidency.
It was during those four years in the White House that the first Christmas tree was set up. It was decorated and hung with gifts for every member of the family.
Caroline Harrison died in 1892 and Benjamin married Caroline's niece, Mary Erskine Dimmick, in 1896. They had one daughter, Elizabeth, born in 1897.
