As an American it's usually pretty easy to forget how young o
ur country really is. Then you go and read something like this: the grandson--not great-grandson or great-great-grandson but grandson--of our 10th president, John Tyler Jr., is still alive. His name is Harrison Tyler.President Tyler died in 1862. He was in office 20 years before Abraham Lincoln.
For those who are into presidential trivia (it used to be one of my hobbies as a kid, alongside an infatuation with All Things Elvis), Tyler was the first president elected by succession. He was vice-president to William Henry Harrison, who died 32 days (!) into his presidency from a cold that turned into pneumonia and pleurisy.
Tyler was only 1 of 4 presidents who never ran for the office. He was 1 one of 3 to get married while he was President (his first wife died halfway through his term). Between his two wives he had 15 children--a record for Presidents!
HT: The Corner
