"I have no private purpose to accomplish, no party objectives to build up, no enemies to punish, nothing to serve but my country."
-Zachary Taylor
Born: November 24, 1784
Died: July 9, 1850
President: March 5, 1849 – July 9, 1850
Unlike many politicians, Zachary Taylor didn’t seek power, but power found him anyway. As Bill O’Reilly explains in Confronting the Presidents, Taylor’s rise from front-line general to president was unexpected and ultimately cut short by mysterious circumstances.
His troops nicknamed him “Old Rough and Ready,” based on his reputation for grit, not glamour. He led soldiers in multiple wars, often sleeping in the dirt beside them, dressed in civilian clothes, and earning their respect with his courage and fairness. Despite no particular interest in politics, he was catapulted into national office based solely on his battlefield heroics.
His presidency began with turmoil brewing over slavery and the admission of new states. Though a Southern slaveholder, Taylor strongly opposed the spread of slavery into new territories and threatened to personally lead troops against any state that attempted secession. His fierce defense of the Union, combined with his political independence, made him a surprise ally and an adversary on both sides of the aisle.
Sadly, his presidency was cut short just 16 months in, when he fell ill shortly after attending a Fourth of July celebration. But the story doesn’t end there…
After attending a 1850 Fourth of July celebration in sweltering heat, President Taylor reportedly consumed a large quantity of cherries and iced milk, which some claimed triggered his fatal gastrointestinal illness. The official diagnosis was acute gastroenteritis, but that’s where the mystery begins.
Rumors quickly spread that Taylor may have been poisoned, possibly by political enemies angered by his refusal to support the expansion of slavery. The conspiracy theories gained enough traction that, in 1991, 141 years after his death, his body was exhumed and tested for arsenic. The results showed no evidence of poisoning, but the questions never entirely disappeared.
In a twist as peculiar as the poisoning theories, Taylor’s wife, Margaret, was reportedly so distraught and mistrustful that she insisted his coffin be opened multiple times. Whether motivated by grief, suspicion, or fear of a political plot, her repeated demands added even more drama to an already unusual death.
Taylor became the second U.S. president to die in office, following William Henry Harrison just nine years earlier. Neither man served a full term, and their deaths helped highlight the need for clearer presidential succession protocols.
Fun Fact:
Before his presidential run, Taylor had never held political office and had never even voted in a national election. He famously admitted to knowing almost nothing about the Whig Party’s platform when he was nominated. In fact, some historians joke that he was elected on the platform of having no platform at all.
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