George Washington and Abraham Lincoln get most of the attention on Presidents’ Day, but it is intended to honor all American Presidents and one of those men — Zachary Taylor — is said to have met his fate from food poisoning.
Taylor was the 12th president of the United States and it was the first political office he ever held. He had been a military leader who fought in several Indian wars, as well as in The Mexican War (1846-48). They called him “Old Rough and Ready” because of his willingness to share his troops’ hardships. He kept one of his old war horses, Whitney, on the White House grounds.
It was just 16 months into his term as president when he attended 4th of July ceremonies at the Washington Monument. It was a blistering hot day and he ate from the local picnic offerings. The food that many believe did him in was a large bowl of cherries and cream. He fell sick and died in a matter of five days.
Because Taylor’s death was not rigorously studied, historians and others who grew suspicious about the “food poisoning” story succeeded in having his remains exhumed from his tomb in Louisville in 1980. Tests for arsenic came back negative and there was no other evidence to disprove the theory that he died in office from a foodborne illness.
Taylor’s short presidency was highlighted by the politics of slavery and Abraham Lincoln gave the eulogy at his funeral. Taylor, a wealthy slave owner himself, had passionately opposed secession by Southern states as a way to solve the country’s problems. Taylor was followed into the Presidency by Vice President Millard Fillmore.
