It is widely known that Franklin D. Roosevelt was the longest-serving President in the history of the United States, having spent 4,422 days in the White House. But are you familiar with the fact that some U.S. presidents didn’t even serve a full year in office? Scroll down to find out the presidents with the shortest time spent in the position.
Zachary Taylor
Time in the office: 492 Days
Military leader Zachary Taylor served as the 12th president of the United States. He is known for having little interest in politics before being convinced by Whig Party to be their candidate for the 1848 presidential elections. Taylor won 47.3% of the votes in front of Democratic candidate Lewis Case and started his presidency on March 4, 1849. Taylor served 492 days as a President before dying of a stomach disease.
James A. Garfield
Time in the office: 199 Days
James A. Garfield is one of two U.S. presidents who didn’t get to see more than a year in the oval office. He was a lawyer and a Civil War general who won the 1880 presidential elections as a candidate of the Republican Party. Garfield, the 20th president of the U.S., was assassinated by a disappointed office seeker after only spending 199 days in the position.
William Henry Harrison
Time in the office: 31 Days
Despite his success as a military officer and U.S. senator, William Henry Harrison will be best remembered as the U.S. president with the shortest stint in office. Harrison was elected as the 9th President of the United States during the 1840 presidential election, where he ran as a member of the Whig party and defeated Democratic candidate Martin Van Buren by a 52.9% to 46.8% margin. He only spent 31 days as a president before becoming ill and dying.
