- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJames Abram Garfield
- Height6′ (1.83 m)
- James Abram Garfield was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881, until his death six months later, two months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War general, he served nine terms in the House of Representatives and was the only sitting member of the House to be elected president. Before his candidacy for the White House, he had been elected to the Senate by the Ohio General Assembly, a position he declined when he became president-elect.
- IMDb mini biography by: Bonitao - He grew up in poor circumstances. As a result of his father's early death, James had to work as a child to support the family. After college, Garfield worked briefly as a lay preacher, then as a college teacher. In 1859 Garfield was elected to the Ohio Senate. In the American Civil War he positioned himself on the Union side from 1861. He took an active part in the fighting and rose to the rank of major general.
In 1863, James Garfield was elected to the US Congress for the Republican Party, where he was represented until 1880. From 1876 he served as the party's faction leader in the House of Representatives. In 1880, Garfield was elected to the U.S. Senate to represent Ohio. However, due to his victory in the presidential election campaign of the same year, Garfield was unable to take up this position. But even as president he was only given a short term in office.
As a member of the "Half-Breeds" he stood for civil service reform and moderate treatment of the inferior southern states. He also advocated a moral renewal of the corrupt Republican Party, which on the one hand earned him great respect, but on the other hand also meant his downfall. On July 2, 1881, Garfield was the victim of an assassination attempt carried out on him by a rejected candidate for public office.
James Abram Garfield died from gunshot wounds on September 19, 1881 in Alberon, New York.
- IMDb mini biography by: Christian_Wolfgang_Barth
- SpouseLucretia Garfield(November 11, 1858 - September 19, 1881) (his death, 8 children)
- Long beard
- Among those at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station when Garfield was shot was Robert Lincoln, son of Abraham Lincoln. When then-Major General Garfield was elected to the House of Representatives for Ohio's 19th district in 1862 while he was in the Army and without ever campaigning, the elder Lincoln urged Garfield to claim his seat, saying: "I have enough generals".
- 20th President of the United States. Shot by Charles J. Guiteau on July 2, 1881 at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station (Washington, D.C.) as the president was en route to join his family in Elberon, New Jersey. Garfield, who was taken to Elberon as his last request, died from massive infection and blood poisoning. Guiteau was motivated by Garfield's rejection of him as Consul to Paris, an appointment he felt he deserved for supporting Garfield's candidacy. Guiteau wrote that God told him to kill Garfield so Vice-President Chester Arthur, and Arthur's patron, New York Congressman and power-broker Roscoe Conkling, "would save the Republic". As Guiteau, who plead not guilty by reason of insanity, implied at his trial, a medical inquiry determined Garfield's death was primarily the result of the incompetence of his doctors, most notably, his friend, Dr. Willard Bliss. Guiteau was executed on June 30, 1882.
- Played by Shuler Hensley in "American Experience" (2016) {Murder of a President (#28.3)} .
- Son James Garfield, Jr. served as Theodore Roosevelt's Secretary of the Interior. Son Harry Garfield was president of Williams College, Garfield's Alma Mater, and was a friend of Woodrow Wilson. Son Abram Garfield was an architect; a number of his works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. James and Harry were with their father when he was shot by Charles Guiteau.
- Alexander Graham Bell developed what has since been recognized as the world's first metal detector to try the locate the bullet inside Garfield's body after he was shot. While Garfield's doctor, Dr. Willard Bliss, told reporters Bell found the bullet, in fact, he had not because Bliss would not allow Bell to examine the left side of Garfield's body, where the coroner later found the bullet.
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