The 120-Year Presidential Pattern

Rea,

When we were preparing for your presidents quiz, we talked about Roosevelt and Kennedy dying while they were president. But there’s an even stranger story connecting these two presidents - a pattern so unusual that some people call it a curse.

The story begins in 1811 with a battle near a river called Tippecanoe in Indiana. General William Henry Harrison led American forces against Shawnee Native Americans led by a spiritual leader named Tenskwatawa. After defeating the Shawnee, Harrison became a national hero. But legend says that Tenskwatawa placed a curse on Harrison and all future “Great White Fathers” who would be elected in certain years.

Twenty-nine years later, Harrison was elected president in 1840 - a year ending in zero. After giving the longest inaugural speech in history (one hour and 45 minutes) on a cold, rainy day without a coat, Harrison caught pneumonia. He died just 31 days after becoming president - the shortest presidency ever.

Then something strange began to happen. Every president elected in a year ending in zero died in office:

Abraham Lincoln, elected in 1860, was shot at Ford’s Theatre in 1865.

James Garfield, elected in 1880, was shot at a train station and died 79 days later in 1881.

William McKinley, elected in 1900, was shot at the Pan-American Exposition and died eight days later in 1901.

Warren Harding, elected in 1920, died of a heart attack in 1923.

Franklin Roosevelt, elected in 1940 (his third term), died in 1945.

John F. Kennedy, elected in 1960, was assassinated in Dallas in 1963.

For 120 years, this pattern held true without fail. Seven presidents in a row, all elected in years ending in zero, all died in office. The odds of this happening by pure chance are less than one in 10 million.

Then came 1980, when Ronald Reagan was elected. Just 70 days into his presidency, John Hinckley Jr. shot Reagan outside a hotel in Washington, D.C. The bullet missed his heart by less than an inch. Reagan joked to his doctors, “I hope you’re all Republicans,” before being rushed into surgery. Unlike his predecessors, Reagan survived and served two full terms, becoming the first president to break the “curse.”

The next time you’re studying for a history test, look for patterns and stories like this one. They make facts easier to remember!

Love, Abba