DNF - Presidents Who Did Not Finish Their Term Quiz

Answer: William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison died on April 4th 1841, his 32nd day in office, of typhoid, pneumonia or paratyphoid fever.

David Rice Atchison was president pro tempore of the Senate for one day, Sunday March 4, 1849, because the incoming president, Zachary Taylor, was not sworn-in until the Monday. He is sometimes said to have been "President for a day", although constitutionally this is not the case.

Franklin Pierce, despite a widely held view of his failures in office, completed his term, and Zachary Taylor held the office for over a year.

Answer: James Garfield

Garfield was a surprise nominee by the Republican party for the 1880 election. He was a compromise candidate for a convention that could not settle on whether to nominate James Blaine or Ulysses Grant. Garfield was also one of the most interesting presidents; he could write, simultaneously, in Greek and Latin, answers to questions with both hands.

He was the first (and still the only) sitting member of Congress to be elected president. He was shot four months after his inauguration on July 1, 1881, and died September 19, 1881 from infection that resulted from doctors probing for the bullet with unwashed fingers and instruments.

Answer: Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor was a leading general of the Mexican War, and after his famous victory at Buena Vista he was lobbied by a wide range of political interests to run for president. He was elected in 1848 with a core philosophy to preserve the Union at any cost.

He died of a stomach disease suddenly on July 9, 1850, having accomplished little, resulting in the elevation of Millard Fillmore to president. The Compromise of 1850, which held the Union together for another decade, was a series of acts passed later that year that many thought would last. Of course, it did not.

Answer: Intracerebral haemorrhage

FDR's health deteriorated badly during the final years of his life, which coincided with World War 2. In his final months he shocked many with the deterioration in his appearance. He was on hiatus in Warm Springs when he complained of a "terrific headache" and slumped forward in his wheelchair, and died soon after.

His attending cardiologist, Dr. Howard Bruenn, diagnosed an intra-cerebral haemorrhage. He was 63.

Answer: 1944

The United States Army Observation Group, known at the time as the Dixie Mission, attempted to establish relations with the Communist Party of China and promote a reconciliation between the Nationalists and the Communists between July 1944 and March 1947; the effort failed, and although it was recalled favorably by Communist China as the Nixon visit was negotiated, many of the American individuals, who had promoted the communists as a more viable potential ally than the Nationalists, were accused of communist sympathies by McCarthy and suffered repercussions.

Answer: William McKinley

Theodore Roosevelt was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy by William McKinley during his first term as president in 1897. From that position, when his boss Secretary Long was not around, which was often, Roosevelt endeavoured to build up the Navy and position it to be in the right place at the right time at the start of the Spanish American War.

His cousin Franklin did a very similar thing in the same job in the lead-up to World War I. McKinley was assassinated by anarchist Leon Czolgosz six months into his second term.

Answer: John F. Kennedy

Kennedy was interred in a small plot at Arlington on November 25, 1963, where an estimated 16 million people visited his grave. On March 14, 1967, Kennedy's body was moved to a permanent location at the Cemetery.

Answer: Warren G. Harding

Andrew Mellon was Harding's Secretary of the Treasury, and continued to own and was involved with his empire while he was in office. In addition, the Teapot Dome scandal erupted after Harding's death, along with allegations of an extramarital affair and other shenanigans. Harding was, however, very popular while he was alive; these scandals only became known after his death about two years into his term in 1923. Bit of luck, there.

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln died only one month and 11 days into his second term, the day after he was shot. William Henry Harrison died on his 32nd day in office, the reigning champion "DNF" president. FDR gets the bronze, having died two months and 23 days into his fourth term.

Answer: 18

Of the 18 who did not complete their term, nine were elevated to the presidency during their term, seven died in office, and two resigned. Interestingly, until the 25th amendment was adopted on February 10, 1967, there was no mechanism to replace the vice president if they were elevated to the presidency or otherwise vacated the office, which resulted in the post remaining empty for significant periods.