List of presidents of the United States who died in office

Presidents of the United States who died in office
William Henry Harrison April 4, 1841	Zachary Taylor July 9, 1850	Abraham Lincoln April 15, 1865
James A. Garfield September 19, 1881		William McKinley September 14, 1901
Warren G. Harding August 2, 1923	Franklin D. Roosevelt April 12, 1945	John F. Kennedy November 22, 1963

Since the office was established in 1789, 45 persons have served as president of the United States.^[a] Of these, eight have died in office:^[1] four were assassinated, and four died of natural causes. In each of these instances, the vice president has succeeded to the presidency. This practice is now governed by Section One of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1967, which declares that, "the Vice President shall become President" if the president is removed from office, dies, or resigns.^[2] The initial authorization for this practice was provided by Article II, Section 1, Clause 6, of the U.S. Constitution.^[b][2]

The first incumbent U.S. president to die was William Henry Harrison, on April 4, 1841, only one month after Inauguration Day. He died from complications of what at the time was believed to be pneumonia.^[3] The second American president to die in office, Zachary Taylor, died on July 9, 1850, from acute gastroenteritis.^[4] Abraham Lincoln was the first U.S. president to be killed while in office. He was shot by John Wilkes Booth on the night of April 14, 1865, and died the following morning.^[5] Sixteen years later, on July 2, 1881, James A. Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau, surviving for over two months before dying on September 19, 1881.^[6]

On September 6, 1901, William McKinley died, eight days after being shot by Leon Czolgosz.^[7] Next, Warren G. Harding suffered a heart attack, and died on August 2, 1923.^[8] On April 12, 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt (who had just begun his fourth term in office) collapsed and died as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage.^[9] The most recent U.S. president to die in office was John F. Kennedy, who was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas.^[10]

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