November 13, 1833:Edwin Booth's Birthday

Edwin Thomas Booth (pictured), regarded as one of the greatest actors of his day, if not the greatest, also has the historical misfortune of being the elder brother of John Wilkes Booth, murderer of Lincoln. Some years after that terrible event, the elder Booth wrote a letter in response to an inquiry regarding his assassin brother:

WINDSOR HOTEL, NEW YORK,

July 28, 1881.

Dear Sir:

I can give you very little information regarding my brother John. I seldom saw him since his early boyhood in Baltimore. He was a rattle-pated fellow, filled with quixotic notions.

While at the farm in Maryland he would charge on horseback through the woods, “spouting” heroic speeches with a lance in his hand–a relic of the Mexican war–given to father by some soldier who had served under Taylor. We regarded him as a good-hearted, harmless, though wild-brained, boy, and used to laugh at his patriotic froth whenever secession was discussed. That he was insane on that one point no one who knew him well can doubt. When I told him that I had voted for Lincoln’s reelection he expressed deep regret, and declared his belief that Lincoln would be made king of America; and this I believe, drove him beyond the limits of reason. I asked him once why he did not join the Confederate army. To which he replied, “I promised mother I would keep out of the quarrel, if possible, and I am sorry that I said so." Knowing my sentiments, he avoided me, rarely visiting my house, except to see his mother, when political topics were not touched upon–at least in my presence. He was of a gentle, loving disposition, very boyish and full of fun–his mother’s darling–and his deed and death crushed her spirit. He possessed rare dramatic talent, and would have made a brilliant mark in the theatrical world. This is positively all that I know about him, having left him a mere school-boy, when I went with my father to California in 1852. On my return in 1856 we were separated by professional engagements, which kept him mostly in the South while I was employed in the Eastern and Northern states.

I do not believe any of the wild, romantic stories published in the papers concerning him; but of course he may have been engaged in political matters of which I know nothing. All his theatrical friends speak of him as a poor crazy boy, and such his family think of him. I am sorry I can afford you no further light on the subject. Very truly yours,

Edwin Booth.

Curiously, the bit of lore about the elder Booth saving Robert Todd Lincoln from death or at least serious injury seems to be true. That story is here.

November 12, 2006:Ford Outlasts Them All (So Far)

A year ago, Gerald Ford surpassed Ronald Reagan as the longest-lived president at 93 years and 121 days. Ford was near death at the time, however, and died 45 days later. Reagan himself had bested Herbert Hoover in early 2001 and John Adams in late 2001 to surpass the previous longest and second-longest presidential lifespans.

George HW Bush and Jimmy Carter would each have to live 10 more years to top Ford and Reagan, and Bill Clinton would have to live another 32 years.

Currently there are three living former presidents. From the inauguration of George W. Bush to the death of Ronald Reagan, there were five, which was only the third time that many former presidents have been alive. It was also the longest period with five ex-presidents kicking around -- more than three years, compared with the roughly 15 months between the inauguration of Bill Clinton and the death of Richard Nixon, and the 10 months between the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln and the death of John Tyler.

Three former presidents is a fairly common number, beginning all the way back in 1817, when James Monroe took office. All the previous presidents except Washington -- John Adams, Jefferson and Madison -- were still alive at the time, and in fact all of them survived Monroe's eight years in office.

November 11:Presidents and Armistice Day

Though commemorating events on the battlefield, the creation of the remembrance known as Armistice Day and later Veterans Day in the United States included presidential involvement (the day has other histories in other Allied countries, which isn't in the purview of this site). The first US Armistice Day was in 1919, by proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson, who said:

"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nation."

Toni Eugene wrote in Army magazine, November 2007, "In 1920, President Wilson named the Sunday nearest it Armistice Day Sunday and suggested services be held in pursuit of international peace...

"In 1921, the United States followed a custom established the previous year in England and France, where an unknown soldier was buried in each nation’s highest place of honor—Westminster Abbey and the Arc de Triomphe. To ensure anonymity, an American unknown was exhumed from each of the four major cemeteries in which U.S. war dead were buried: Aisne-Marne, Meuse-Argonne, Somme and St. Mihiel. Edward F. Younger, an infantry sergeant who had taken part in Chateau-Thierry, St. Mihiel, the Somme Offensive and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, selected the soldier who would represent the unknown soldier in Washington, D.C. The other three coffins were put aboard a truck and taken to Romagne Cemetery east of Paris, where they were buried.

"The coffin of the unknown bound for the United States was transported with great respect and ceremony by train, then ship and finally horse-drawn caisson to the Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C. Brig. Gen. Harry H. Bandholtz, commander of the Military District of Washington, was responsible for planning the ceremonies there. That Armistice Day was probably the most elaborate of any veterans celebration before or since.

"Between 8 am and midnight November 10, some 90,000 people passed by the bier to pay their respects to the nameless veteran. At 8 am on November 11, the U.S. Army Band played a dirge, military units stood at 'present arms' and a field artillery battery from Camp Meade, Md., fired minute guns as the coffin was moved to the caisson that would carry it to Arlington National Cemetery, in Virginia.

"For this special day, President Warren G. Harding had requested that all flags fly at half-staff from sunrise to sunset and that all Americans pay silent tribute as the coffin was lowered into the tomb. Thousands of people lined the streets as President Harding, Vice President Calvin Coolidge, the chief justice and associate justices of the Supreme Court, military dignitaries and a parade of other distinguished guests followed the caisson bearing the flag-draped coffin to Arlington National Cemetery. After an impressive ceremony marked by a respectful two-minute silence, the coffin was lowered into the crypt. Three artillery salvos, the sounding of 'Taps' and a national salute of 21 guns concluded that national Armistice Day celebration."

President Franklin Roosevelt signed the bill in 1938 that made Armistice Day an actual federal holiday, as opposed to a remembrance day (it was a holiday in many states by then). In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the bill changing the designation to Veterans Day.

According to All About American Holidays by Mayme R. Krythe, "In Emporia, Kansas, on November 11, 1953, instead of an Armistice Day program, there was a Veterans Day observance. Ed Rees, of Emporia, was so impressed that he introduced a bill into the House to change the name to Veterans Day. After this passed, Mr. Rees wrote to all state governors and asked for their approval and cooperation in observing the changed holiday. The name was changed to Veterans Day by Act of Congress on May 24, 1954. In October of that year, President Eisenhower called on all citizens to observe the day by remembering the sacrifices of all those who fought so gallantly, and through rededication to the task of promoting an enduring peace."

November 10, 2007:Arthur Bremer on Parole

"How strange is this: An assassin released on parole?" wrote Patrick J. Lyons in a New York Times blog yesterday.

"Extremely strange, actually. Of all the protagonists in America’s horrible string of high-profile political assassinations and attempts in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, Arthur H. Bremer, who tried to kill Gov. George C. Wallace of Alabama, appears to be the first and only one to become a free man again. He was released on parole today in Maryland.

"Mr. Bremer is free after serving 35 years of his 53-year sentence for the 1972 shooting, which left Mr. Wallace a paraplegic. Mr. Wallace lived another 25 years, and Mr. Bremer has evidently been a model prisoner, holding down a prison job and avoiding even a single black mark on his record, officials said.

"Mr. Bremer said at the time of his trial that his motive was to become a celebrity, and many observers have noted the pernicious, if unintended, effect that intense media attention has had, glamorizing assassins and inspiring copycats. John W. Hinckley Jr., who shot and wounded Ronald Reagan in 1981, said he did it to prove his love for the actress Jodie Foster, who appeared in the film Taxi Driver, about a would-be assassin who looked to Mr. Bremer as a role model."

The full posting is here, comparing Bremer's case to other recent assassins and would-be assassins.

November 9, 1906:TR Goes Abroad

On November 9, 1906, Theodore Roosevelt became the first sitting US president to leave the country. Commonplace now, such a trip was unheard of then. But TR had his reasons. He was going to inspect the progress on the Panama Canal (pictured under construction in 1907, below).

"In November 1906 he was setting out on a journey to survey the progress of his project to build that better route between the Atlantic and the Pacific," wrote Alexander Burns in AmericanHeritage.com in November 2006. "Seven years earlier, in 1899, Congress had created an Isthmian Canal Commission, charged with plotting out a route for a canal through Panama, but it had taken several years and multiple treaties to guarantee the United States access to and ownership of the land needed to begin construction. Finally, in 1903, the United States under Roosevelt had arrived at a deal with a new Panamanian government by which the U.S. would control the canal’s route across the isthmus as well as a five-mile strip of land on both sides and a few islands in the Bay of Panama. In exchange for this, the government would pay Panama $10 million initially and $250,000 each year starting in 1912.

"It was a remarkably good deal for the United States. Some observers grumbled that it was too good, particularly given that it had been arrived at only after a new, U.S.-friendly Panamanian government had seized power by force. When Roosevelt disembarked in Panama, however, there was no sign of bitterness or resentment on the part of the Panamanian people. His ship arrived in the middle of a storm, but the weather did little to dampen the energy with which he was received. As he rode through Panama City in the pouring rain, with his wife beside him, he looked out on buildings and streets that had been scrubbed clean in anticipation of his arrival. He could see flags flying in window after window. He basked in the knowledge that his hosts had formally declared a day of 'joy and exalted enthusiasm' in honor of his arrival.

"The trip was far from just ceremonial, though. Roosevelt wanted to see firsthand the progress that was being made on the construction of his canal. Contemporary accounts of his expedition highlight the characteristic rigor of his travels. Intentionally visiting the grittiest of the work sites, he didn’t hesitate to tramp through mud or ride on horseback in order to gain access to unfinished portions of the canal. He also went out of his way to witness the conditions in which the project placed its workers. On one of the first days of the tour, he and the First Lady decided not to attend a lavish luncheon to which they had been invited, at the luxurious Tivoli Hotel. Instead they visited a mess hall in which canal workers ate their meals. Sitting down among several hundred laborers, the Roosevelts dined on a 30-cent lunch. At the Cristóbal work site, the President spent most of his time touring workers’ living quarters."

Presidents Elected on November 8

Under the plan for a standard popular vote for the presidency, the ballot is the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November, meaning a range from November 2nd to the 8th. Supposedly Monday lost out as a polling day because in some cases, voters would have had to leave home on Sunday, the Lord's Day, to reach a polling place by the end of the next day, considering the poor state of roads and transit in the early 19th century.

The first November 8 election -- in the northern states only -- saw Lincoln beating McClellan. In some sense, these presidential elections are the most remarkable in US history, not for the outcome, but for the fact that there were held at all in the midst of a bloody civil war. In 1892, things were a little less dramatic, but those elections did return Cleveland to the White House. The 22nd and 24th President of the United States remains the only man to lose the office and get it back again.

The 1904 election wasn't much of a contest: Teddy Roosevelt carried every part of the country against Alton Parker (pictured), except the Solid South, which in those days always went Democratic. In 1932, the Depression put Franklin Roosevelt into office. The November 8 presidential election of 1960 saw Kennedy edging out Nixon by a narrow margin, and in 1988 George HW Bush outpolled Michael Dukakis but a considerably larger margin. The next such late-as-possible election won't be until 2016.

November 7, 1811:The Battle of Tippecanoe

A battlefield near the Tippecanoe River in the Indiana Territory gave us the most memorable US presidential election slogan, "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too!" Most living Americans have probably heard the slogan at some point, though perhaps not so many could associate it with William Henry Harrison and John Tyler, the victorious Whig ticket in 1840.

That election was long in the future on November 7, 1811, during the Battle of Tippecanoe, which made William Henry Harrison famous, ultimately taking him to the White House for his 30-day term. According to the Tippecanoe County Historical Society Web site: "Early man and many Indian tribes roamed this part of the Wabash Valley before the thriving trading post of Keth-tip-pe-can-nunk was established in the eighteenth century. Known to many as 'Tippecanoe,' the village thrived until 1791, when it was razed in an attempt to scatter the Indians and open the land to the new white settlers.

"Seventeen years later a new Indian village was established on or near the old Keth-tip-pe-can-nunk site at the Wabash/Tippecanoe River junction. Known as 'Prophet's Town,' this village was destined to become the capitol [sic] of a great Indian confederacy.

"The town was founded in May 1808, when two Shawnee brothers, Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa (the Prophet), left their native Ohio after being permitted to settle on these Potawatomi and Kickapoo-held lands.

"Tecumseh and the Prophet planned to unite many tribes into an organized defense against the growing number of western settlers. In addition to being a seat of diplomacy, Prophet's Town became a training center for the warriors, with a rigorous spiritual and athletic regimen. As many as one thousand warriors were based in the capitol [sic] at its peak.

"The white settlers of the Indiana territory were disturbed by the increasing activities and power of Tecumseh's followers. In the late summer of 1811, the governor of the territory, Gen. William Henry Harrison, organized a small army of 1,000 men, hoping to destroy the town while Tecumseh was on a southern recruitment drive. The regiment arrived on Nov. 6, 1811, and upon meeting with representatives of the Prophet, it was mutually agreed that there would be no hostilities until a meeting could be held on the following day. Harrison's scouts then guided the troops to a suitable campsite on a wooded hill about a mile west of Prophet's Town.

"Upon arriving at the site, Harrison warned his men of the possible treachery of the Prophet. The troops were placed in a quadrangular formation; each man was to sleep fully clothed. Fires were lit to combat the cold, rainy night, and a large detail was assigned to sentinel the outposts.

"Although Tecumseh had warned his brother not to attack the white men until the confederation was strong and completely unified, the incensed Prophet lashed his men with fiery oratory. Claiming the white man's bullets could not harm them, the Prophet led his men near the army campsite. From a high rock ledge west of the camp, he gave an order to attack just before daybreak on the following day.

"The sentinels were ready, and the first gunshot was fired when the yells of the warriors were heard. Many of the men awoke to find the Indians upon them. Although only a handful of the soldiers had had previous battle experience, the army fought off the reckless, determined Indian attack. Two hours later, thirty-seven soldiers were dead, twenty-five others were to die of injuries, and over 126 were wounded. The Indian casualties were unknown, but their spirit was crushed. Angered by his deceit, the weary warriors stripped the Prophet of his power and threatened to kill him."

Over the years, November 7 has seen presidential elections in 1848, 1876, 1916, 1944, 1972, and 2000. The election of 1848, with Zachary Taylor riding to the White House on his military fame, was the first presidential election to be held on the same day across the country -- before that, each state set its own date. In 1876, it seemed that Samuel J. Tilden had won, but no: the prize was ultimately stolen for Rutherford B. Hayes. Nineteen-sixteen was close as well, with Woodrow Wilson squeaking to victory on the basis of a few thousand votes in California. The elections of 1944 and 1972 were not close -- big wins for FDR and Richard Nixon, neither of which would finish those terms.

November 6, 1861:Jefferson Davis Elected CSA President

In early 1861, the provisional Confederate government slated its first presidential election for November 1861 -- a year to the day after Lincoln had been elected US president, in fact. The CSA provisional president, Jefferson Davis, won the '61 election handily since he, like Washington decades before, ran unopposed. It proved to be the one and only presidential election the CSA ever held, so unlike Washington, Davis had no successors.

Among US presidential elections, November 6 saw contests in 1860, 1888, 1900, 1928, 1956 and 1984. Far and away the most momentous of these was the election of Lincoln in 1860 in a four-way race. Benjamin Harrison won the electoral vote in 1888, thus replacing Grover Cleveland for a term. In 1900, McKinley won his ill-starred second term, and in 1928, Hoover won his ill-starred single term, though at least he survived it. Both 1956 and 1984 saw easy re-elections for popular presidents, Eisenhower and Reagan respectively.

November 5, 1872:Susan B. Anthony Votes for President

November 5 saw a number of presidential elections, including Grant's second victory in 1872, Wilson defeating TR and Taft in 1912, FDR winning an unprecedented third term in 1940, Nixon narrowly beating Humphrey in 1968 and Clinton's re-election in 1996. It was also the day, in the 1872 Grant-Greeley contest, that Susan B. Anthony famously cast a vote.

The companion web site to the In Search of Heroes video series describes the legal wrangling that ensued: "On November 1, 1872 she went to register to vote in Rochester, New York, along with three other women. Two election inspectors named Edwin Marsh and Beverly W. Jones at first refused, but... they eventually consented. By the end of the period of registration, 50 women had registered to vote in Rochester. On election day, November 5, 1872, Anthony voted for the first time. On November 18, she was served an arrest warrant.

"The trial began the following summer in Canandaiga, New York, southeast of Rochester. Her counsel was Henry R. Seldon, who was a close personal friend and was sympathetic to the cause of suffrage. The prosecuting attorney was Richard Crowley. On the bench was Judge Ward Hunt. After presentation of the opposing arguments in the case, the jury was abruptly directed by the judge to return a verdict of guilty. Seldon protested and demanded that the jury be polled, but he was cut off.

The next day, Anthony attempted to speak on her own behalf but was stopped by Judge Hunt. She was fined $100 but was not jailed. This was a calculated move, obviously planned in advance, that prevented Anthony from appealing the case to the United States Supreme Court. Susan B. Anthony never paid the $100, and eventually the matter was dropped. Three election inspectors who allowed the women to register were tried the day Anthony was sentenced. They were convicted of breaking election laws and fined $25 each. Two of these men, including Edwin Marsh, refused to pay their fines and were jailed. Anthony appealed to her senator and the men received a pardon from President Grant."

Anthony did manage to speak to the judge about the matter of the $100 fine, however: "May it please your honor, I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty. All the stock in trade I possess is a $10,000 debt, incurred by publishing my paper [The Revolution] ...the sole object of which was to educate all women to do precisely as I have done, rebel against your manmade, unjust, unconstitutional forms of law, that tax, fine, imprision, and hang women, while they deny them the right of representation in the government... I shall earnestly and persistently continue to urge all women to the practical recognition of the old revolutionary maxim that 'Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God.' "

November 4, 1879:Will Rogers' Birthday

Stephen Colbert is hardly the first comedian to "run" for president. Writing last month in Slate, Christopher Beam and Chadwick Matlin had this to say about comedians with hats in the presidential ring: "A few people have compared Colbert's candidacy to that of Pat Paulsen, the comedian who ran on the Straight-Talking American Government ticket in 1968 with the promise that 'If elected, I will win.'

"But Paulsen wasn't the first, either. Back in 1928, humorist Will Rogers announced his presidential bid on the 'Anti-Bunk Party' ticket in a column for Life magazine. His campaign promise was essentially the opposite of Paulsen's: If elected, he would resign. He later challenged Herbert Hoover to a joint debate 'in any joint you name.'

"The difference between Colbert and Rogers is that Rogers insisted he was running in jest. 'Now when that is done as a joke it is alright,' he wrote. 'But when it's done seriously, it's just pathetic.' But that didn't stop people from supporting him. Henry Ford backed Rogers, as did Babe Ruth and Charles Gibson, Life's owner, who wrote the magazine's official endorsement. Rogers refused to get on the ballot..."

Dick Gregory would be another fairly recent example of a non-serious bid for the presidency, running as he did in 1968 with the Freedom and Peace Party, a splinter from the Peace and Freedom Party (or was it the other way around?). A century earlier -- predating Rogers quite a few decades -- was comedian Dan Rice, who sought the Democratic nomination for president in 1868. More on him, "the most famous man you've never heard of," is here and here.

November 4 was also an election day in 1856, 1884, 1924, 1952 and 1980, resulting in the elections of Buchanan, Cleveland, Coolidge, Eisenhower and Reagan. The next presidential election will be on November 4, 2008.

Presidents Elected on November 3

On November 3, across the decades, presidents were elected in 1868, 1896, 1908, 1936, 1964 and 1992 -- US Grant, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, Franklin Roosevelt (second term), Lyndon Johnson and Bill Clinton, respectively.

Three of these elections were lopsided victories, both in the popular vote and the electoral college: Grant over Seymour in 1868, Roosevelt over Landon in 1936, and Johnson over Goldwater in 1964. The other three victors on November 3, McKinley, Taft and Clinton, all won respectable majorities, but not in landslides. William Jennings Bryan was the loser in both 1896 and 1908, as he had been in 1900.

Two of the elections pitting an incumbent against another candidate -- Roosevelt in '36 and Johnson in '64. Both won. Only one November 3 election ever unseated an incumbent president, when Bush lost to Clinton in 1992.

November 2, 1795 & 1865: James K. Polk's and Warren G. Harding's Birthdays

November 2 offers a rich vein of dead presidential anniversaries. James K. Polk was born this day in 1795, and 70 years later, Warren G. Harding was. Both were the unexpected nominees of their parties in their respective election years, 1844 and 1920. The results of the 1844 election were the first ones ever transmitted by telegraph; the results of the 1920 election were the first one ever broadcast by radio (it was Harding's 55th birthday). Winning the West proved to be the focal point of the Polk administration; a place in the West called Teapot Dome set the tone for the posthumous reputation of Warren Harding and his administration.

In 1783, George Washington gave his farewell address to the Army, near Princeton, NJ.

On November 2, 1889, President Benjamin Harrison signed the statehood bills for North and South Dakota, one after the other. In which order? Harrison said he didn't look.

On November 2, 1983, Ronald Reagan signed a bill making Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday, starting in 1986.

Under the the standardization of presidential election dates, a scheme that Congress passed and President Polk signed in 1845, November 2 is the first possible date of the general election; November 8 is the last. Elections were held on November 2 in 1852, 1880, 1920, 1948, 1976 and 2004 thus far, resulting in the election or re-election (respectively) of Pierce, Garfield, Harding, Truman, Carter and G.W. Bush.

November 1, 1950:Assassins Gun for Truman

In late 1950, President Truman was living at Blair House across Pennsylvania Ave. from the the White House while that structure was undergoing a major renovation. Protecting the president wasn't as easy at Blair House as the White House, since Blair House fronted a busy street, and was without the high iron fence and broad lawn that surround the White House.

Two Puerto Rican extremists, 36-year-old Oscar Collazo and 25-year-old Griselio Torresola, decided to take advantage of the situation and assassinate Truman on November 1, 1950. Stationed in and around Blair House that day, guarding the president and the first family, were seven men, members of the White House Police and the Secret Service. One of these men was 40-year-old Private Leslie Coffelt (pictured), originally from a small town in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. He, along with one of the assassins, were fated to kill each other that day.

According to the Arlington National Cemetery web site (Coffelt is buried there): "At approximately 2:20 p.m., a half-hour before the president's scheduled departure, Collazo and Torresola approached Blair House from opposite directions. Floyd Boring had just stepped outside for a routine check with his detail. He spoke with Private Coffelt, then moved to the other corner of the house, where he reported to headquarters on the phone in Private Davidson's booth. He was chatting with Davidson when Collazo walked by.

"At the front steps, Donald Birdzell, who was facing westward at the time, suddenly heard a sharp click. Collazo had tried to shoot him at point-blank range, but the gun had misfired. Either the first round in the clip was empty, or Collazo's inexperience had caused him to engage the safety lock at the moment of firing. Birdzell whirled around to see Collazo pounding the gun with his left fist, which caused it to fire, striking Birdzell in the right knee. To draw the fire away from the house, the wounded officer limped out into the street before turning to shoot back at Collazo, who had started up the now unguarded steps.

"Davidson halted Collazo by firing at him from the east booth area. Agent Boring also began firing. Collazo sat on the second step and fired a clip of bullets back at the two guards. He managed to reload, despite the bullets ricocheting off the iron picket fence and railing. Collazo's nose and an ear were grazed by bullets, and another tore through his hat. Meanwhile, Stewart Stout grabbed the machine gun and took up a position inside the house, at the door.

"Agent Mroz came out the basement door behind Boring and Davidson, took one shot at Collazo, then raced back into the Lee House basement to meet a new threat at the basement door on the other end of the building, where Torresola had acted with much more effectiveness than his partner. Approaching from the west, Torresola had reached Private Coffelt's sentry box immediately behind Downs, who had been away from Blair House on personal business and arrived at the basement door just as the gunfire erupted. Because tourists often stopped at the box for information, Coffelt was taken completely by surprise as Torresola fired three times into his chest, abdomen, and legs. Mortally wounded, Coffelt sank back into his chair, but managed to draw his gun while struggling to remain conscious. Downs, standing in the doorway, tried to draw his pistol, but Torresola shot him three times. Then, seeing that Officer Birdzell was shooting at Collazo from the street, the skilled gunman disabled that officer with a bullet through his left knee.

"At this crucial point, Torresola might have gone unimpeded through the west door to the basement, but Private Coffelt made a final supreme effort before losing consciousness and killed the assailant instantly with a shot through the head. If Torresola had gone through the door, he would have stood a very good chance of reaching the president, who now was guarded only by Agent Mroz and Officer Stout. Coffelt's heroic act may have saved the president, because no one within range was safe as long as Torresola was shooting. Boring, meanwhile, had shot Collazo through the chest, and the battle was over. Approximately thirty shots had been fired in less than three minutes.

"Leslie Coffelt died in a hospital less than four hours later. Birdzell's wounds were temporarily disabling, but not life-threatening, while Downs survived wounds that would have killed a weaker man. Collazo was not hurt critically.

"When the shooting ended, President Truman rushed to the window but was quickly waved back by Boring, who feared there might be more accomplices in the excited crowd on the street. Ten minutes later, the president left by a back door for his speech in Arlington. 'A president has to expect such things,' he calmly informed an aide. Truman later reassured Admiral William Leahy: 'The only thing you have to worry about is bad luck. I never have bad luck.' "

Collazo, the surviving terrorist, was sentenced to death, but President Truman commuted his sentence to life imprisonment. President Carter pardoned him in 1979 and he lived in Puerto Rico until his death in 1994.

October 31:Presidential Ghost Stories

The following are questions and answers from a "Halloween quiz" on the White House web site. Who wouldn't like the idea of Calvin Coolidge flickering the lights at the Mayflower Hotel?

Legend has it that Abigail Adams is reported to be occasionally seen doing what in the East Room? Doing laundry.

Who is alleged to haunt the Library of Congress the most? A policeman.

At the United States Capitol, rumor has it that it is not a good idea to ask about this creature with glowing eyes that haunts the building: Demon Cat.

In 1925, President Calvin Coolidge did not have a chance to attend his own Inauguration at the famous Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. Some think every January 20 he returns and lets it be known by doing what? Flickering the lights and stopping an elevator.

In White House lore, an angry Dolley Madison appeared when First Lady Ellen Louise Wilson wanted to remove what? The Rose Garden.

President Lincoln's ghost was supposedly most active during which President's administration? Franklin Roosevelt.

Which President's spirit is said to have visited the Union Army's 20th Maine Regiment at Gettysburg to encourage them to head off a desperate Confederate assault? George Washington.

What house in Washington, D.C. is rumored to be the most haunted? The Octagon.

What else on the White House Grounds is also rumored to be haunted? The Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

Which president is rumored to be heard laughing loudly in the Red Room, which at one point was his bed chambers? Andrew Jackson.

October 30, 1735:John Adams' Birthday

The First Vice President and the Second President of the United States, John Adams of Massachusetts, lived a long time -- 90 years, and it wasn't until the 21st century that two presidents, Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford, lived longer than Adams.

The 90 years of Adams' lifetime saw astonishing changes for North America, not the least of which was the transformation of 13 British colonies on the eastern seaboard -- one of which, Georgia, was only a few years older than Adams -- into a robust nation of 24 states with territory stretching off into the Rocky Mountains. Adams certainly did his part to bring about that transformation.

Writing in April 1776, Adams said: "If the colonies should assume governments separately, they should be left entirely to their own choice of the forms; and if a continental constitution should be formed, it should be a congress, containing a fair and adequate representation of the colonies, and its authority should sacredly be confined to these cases, namely, war, trade, disputes between colony and colony, the post office, and the unappropriated lands of the crown, as they used to be called.

"These colonies, under such forms of government, and in such a union, would be unconquerable by all the monarchies of Europe."

October 29, 1901:Leon Czolgosz Dies

On September 6, 1901, anarchist Leon Frank Czolgosz (aged 28, pictured) shot President William McKinley twice in Buffalo, New York. Within a week, the president was dead. Within two months, Czolgosz was dead, convicted and sentenced to death in a swift trial. He died in the electric chair at the Auburn State Prison in Auburn, New York. As an execution device, the electric chair had been in use only about a decade at that time, with New York State pioneering it.

According to Buffalo History Works, "On October 29, 1901, Leon Czolgosz was led from his cell and slowly walked the twenty feet down the corridor to the door of the death room. He stumbled when his feet touched the stone pavement of the room and again when he got onto the platform that held the chair. It was there that he got the first look at the instrument that was about to take his life.

"The electric chair was a plain looking, but heavy piece of furniture. It was decorated with wide leather straps and heavy buckles. From the ceiling came a coil of wire no wider than a common pencil to which the electrode for the head-piece would attach. Electric lamps were along the wall behind the chair and about the ceiling. The chair was large enough to hold a man much heavier than Czolgosz, so a broad plank was placed on its edge across the seat and against the back of the chair, that there might not be any movement of the prisoner's body to break the circuit.

"As he was being strapped into the chair, Czolgosz blurted out, 'I killed the President because he was the enemy of the good people! I did it for the help of the good people, the working men of all countries!' The guards quickly finished preparing him. Then they slowly stepped away from the platform, turned, and walked away.

"After what seemed like an eternity, the signal was given to throw the switch and send the current through his body. Czolgosz immediately gave a gurgled cry and his body lunged upward. He seemed to tremble with a slight rigidity as his body was converted into a piece of iron. As the 1,700 volts of raw energy exploded into his body, Czolgosz arched his body backwards and remained still. The current flowed for a full minute and was gradually backed down to 200 volts. After the electricity was turned off, some time passed without anyone saying a word. Then one of the prison officials said, 'Give him another poke.'

The current was turned on at 1,700 volts for another full minute without any reaction from Czolgosz's body. After this round was finished, the medical examiner went up to the lifeless body and pronounced Czolgosz dead."

October 28, 1886:Cleveland Dedicates the Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on this day in 1886, with President Cleveland formally accepting it from France. Fifty years later, on the same day, President Franklin Roosevelt re-dedicated the statue, and near 50 years after that (actually July 3, 1986), President Reagan spoke at the unveiling of the statue after its restoration.

According to the Park Service, "The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World was dedicated October 28, 1886. Count de Lesseps and Senator Evarts were among the speakers. Bartholdi, in the torch some 300 feet above, pulled the rope that removed the French tricolor from Liberty's face. Then, President Grover Cleveland accepted the statue on behalf of the United States. Especially impressive were these words of his: 'We will not forget that Liberty has here made her home; nor shall her chosen altar be neglected.' That night the torch held high in the hand of the statue was lighted."

October 27, 1858:Theodore Roosevelt's Birthday

Today is the birthday of Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States. What more to say about TR? Perhaps something by the man himself, a former president offering commentary on the presidency.

Writing in the May 7, 1918, edition of the Kansas City Star, Roosevelt had an obvious jab for the wartime behavior of President Wilson in mind, but probably TR believed what he wrote, war or no war:

"The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile. To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else."

October 26, 1874:Abby Rockefeller's Birthday

Abby Rockefeller did numerous things with her own money and access to her husband's vast fortune -- such as being instrumental in the founding of the Museum of Modern Art in New York -- but she also was the mother of a vice president, though she never knew, dying decades before Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller held that office in the mid-1970s.

"On October 9, 1901, several hundred statesmen, bankers, and robber barons journeyed by yacht, chartered steamer, and private train to Warwick, Rhode Island, to attend the elaborately choreographed wedding of Abby Aldrich, the daughter of Senator Nelson W. Aldrich (1841-1915) to John D. Rockefeller Jr. ("Junior"; 1874-1960), son of the wealthiest man in the world," wrote Wendy Jeffers in the November 2004 issue of The Magazine Antiques. "Armed guards secured the perimeters of the 250-acre waterfront estate--President William McKinley had just been assassinated--and champagne flowed. Junior's mother, who disapproved of ostentatious displays of wealth, not to mention alcohol, declined to attend at the last minute, complaining of illness.

"Nelson Aldrich, although not as well known as John D. Rockefeller Sr. (1839-1937), was chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. In a career that spanned three decades in the Senate (1881-1911), Aldrich helped to create an extensive system of tariffs that protected American industries from foreign competition, at the same time amassing a small fortune in sugar, rubber, banking, and public utility investments. As co-author of the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909, Aldrich removed restrictive import duties on fine art, which enabled friends, such as John Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913), to bring vast private art collections into the country: and ultimately this enriched or led to the establishment of a number of American museums.

"Abby Aldrich and John D. Rockefeller Jr. met in 1894 when he was an undergraduate at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Growing up at her father's side in Providence and Washington, D.C., Abby was a gracious hostess, comfortable in diverse social gatherings. Marrying into the Rockefeller family, however, must have been a formidable challenge. Leaving aside the obvious differences in wealth, her husband was a pragmatic and pious young man with a tendency to be withdrawn.

"She was compassionate and spontaneous--a handsome if not conventionally beautiful woman with hazel eyes and a distinctive aquiline nose. They had six children: Abby Aldrich ("Babs"; 1903-1976), John D. III (1906-1978), Nelson A. (1908-1979), Laurance Spelman (1910-2004), Winthrop (1912-1973), and David (1915-). Although Abby was a pioneering collector of American modern and folk art, her greatest cultural legacy was her role as a founder of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Her experiences as an intrepid collector combined with her close observation of the vast array of Rockefeller philanthropies were undoubtedly the foundation for this undertaking."

October 25, 1764:The Marriage of John and Abigail Adams

Until 2001, only one woman had the distinction of being the wife of a president as well as the mother of one, and that was Abigail Adams, nee Smith. In the fall of 1764, before such an office as President of the United States was even imaginable, the 19-year-old Abigail married the 29-year-old John, an attorney. The ceremony took place at the Smith family home in Weymouth, Massachusetts, presided over by Rev. William Smith, a Congregationalist minister and the bride's father.

According to the Library of Congress' American Memory project, "Abigail Smith married a young lawyer by the name of John Adams on October 25, 1764. Their union launched a vital 54-year partnership taking the couple from colonial Boston through the politics of revolution, to Paris and London and the world of international diplomacy, and finally to Washington, D.C., where they became the first presidential couple to occupy the White House.

"A talented commentator and chronicler of events with a broad knowledge of history, Abigail Adams left an important account of many of the events of the nation's founding in her letters. She and her husband corresponded regularly; first when he attended the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia between 1774 and 1783, and again from 1789 to 1800, when she traveled between the family home in Quincy, Massachusetts, and Philadelphia, where John Adams was serving as the nation's first vice president before becoming its second president in 1797.

"After the presidential term, the Adamses retired to their family home where they spent the next 17 years. In 1825, John Quincy Adams, the couple's eldest son, moved into the White House, succeeding James Monroe to serve as the nation's sixth president."