William McKinley

Notable people · President · Military

William McKinley

Twenty-fifth president, governor of Ohio, and Canton lawyer whose front-porch campaign won the 1896 election; assassinated in 1901.

Born January 29, 1843, Niles
Died September 14, 1901, Buffalo, NY

Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

Born: January 29, 1843, Niles (Trumbull County) source
Died: September 14, 1901, Buffalo, NY source
Buried: McKinley National Memorial, Canton (Stark County) source
Also known as: William McKinley Jr.
Education: Allegheny College, Meadville, PA, 1860
: Mount Union College, Alliance, OH
: Albany Law School, Albany, NY, 1866-1867
Known as: President, Military

Life story

William McKinley was born in Niles, Ohio, in 1843 and went to school in Poland, Ohio, then briefly to Allegheny College and Mount Union.

He enlisted as a private in the 23rd Ohio in 1861 under Rutherford B. Hayes, fought at Antietam, and ended the war as a brevet major. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1867, and moved to Canton, where he married Ida Saxton in 1871.

Their two daughters died young. He served in Congress from 1877, wrote the 1890 tariff that bears his name, lost his seat that year, then served as Ohio governor from 1892.

He won the presidency in 1896 and was re-elected in 1900. Anarchist Leon Czolgosz shot him in Buffalo and he died on September 14, 1901. He lies in the McKinley National Memorial in Canton.

Ohio ties

Niles (1843-1852)
birthplace and early childhood Trumbull County · source
Poland (1852-1861)
family home; Poland Seminary graduate 1859 Mahoning County · source
Canton (1867-1901)
law practice; Stark County prosecutor; home in the Saxton House for over twenty years; 1896 campaign; burial Stark County · source
Columbus (1892-1896)
governor of Ohio Franklin County · source
Alliance (1876)
home of Dr. Levi Lamborn, his congressional opponent and source of the scarlet carnation he wore Stark County · source

Timeline

1843 Born January 29 in Niles, Ohio, in a wood-sided house that was later moved twice and burned in 1937. source
1852 Family moved to Poland, Ohio. source
1859 Graduated from Poland Seminary, then attended Allegheny College briefly before illness sent him home. source
1861 Enlisted in the 23rd Ohio Infantry. source
1862 At Antietam on September 17, as commissary sergeant, served hot coffee and warm food to the regiment under fire, without orders. source
1867 Admitted to the bar and began practicing law in Canton. source
1869 Elected Stark County prosecuting attorney; lost reelection in 1871 by 143 votes. source
1871 Married Ida Saxton of Canton on January 25. source
1876 Elected to the U.S. House, defeating Dr. Levi Lamborn of Alliance, who gave him carnations before their debates. source
1890 Lost his House seat after Democrats redrew his district, the year the McKinley Tariff passed. source
1892 Became governor of Ohio, serving until 1896. source
1896 Won the presidency over William Jennings Bryan after a front-porch campaign. source
1901 Shot September 6 by Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo; died September 14. source
1904 On February 3 the Ohio General Assembly made the scarlet carnation the state flower in his honor. source
1907 The McKinley National Memorial in Canton was dedicated September 30. source
1917 The National McKinley Birthplace Memorial in Niles was dedicated October 5, with former President Taft speaking. source

What William is known for

25th US president
Governor of Ohio 1892-96
McKinley Tariff of 1890
McKinley Tariff of 1890

Stories

Coffee at Antietam

On September 17, 1862, the 23rd Ohio was in action at Antietam, and 19-year-old Sgt. William McKinley was in charge of the regiment's commissary. That afternoon, without orders, he brought hot coffee and warm food up to every man in the regiment, passing under fire to do it. Rutherford B. Hayes, who served in the same regiment, later wrote that the men were famished and thirsty by early afternoon and that the brigade's commissary was under McKinley's personal supervision. A monument marking the spot on the battlefield was dedicated on October 13, 1903, two years after McKinley's death.

Source

Lamborn Red

Dr. Levi Lamborn, an Alliance physician and amateur horticulturist, raised a bright scarlet carnation from French seedlings in 1866 and called it 'Lamborn Red.' In 1876 he ran against McKinley for Congress and handed his opponent a Lamborn Red boutonniere before their debates. McKinley won and kept wearing a red carnation as a good-luck charm through his years as governor and president. After his death, Lamborn's lobbying helped the Ohio General Assembly name the scarlet carnation the state flower on February 3, 1904. In 1959 the legislature named Alliance 'the Carnation City.'

Source

A birthplace rebuilt

McKinley's birthplace in Niles was a two-story, eight-room wood-sided house of about 924 square feet. It was moved twice and then destroyed by fire in 1937. Decades later the McKinley Memorial Library was granted the site at 40 South Main Street, and a replica was built after the demolition of the old McKinley Bank Building. Ground was broken April 28, 2002, and the replica opened on May 4, 2003. It stands near the marble National McKinley Birthplace Memorial, designed by McKim, Mead & White and dedicated in 1917.

Source

Honors and things named for them

McKinley National Memorial, Canton
Brevet major, Union Army

Named for William McKinley

Scarlet carnation, Ohio state flower (1904), adopted as a tribute to McKinley (statewide) source

Family

wife: Ida Saxton McKinley
father: William McKinley Sr.
mother: Nancy Allison McKinley
daughter: Katherine McKinley

Sites to know

Homes, graves, markers, museums and monuments; the numbered ones are on the map.

1 McKinley National Memorial (tomb)
Canton Stark County · source
William McKinley Presidential Library & Museum
Canton Stark County · source
2 National McKinley Birthplace Memorial, 40 N. Main St.
Niles Trumbull County · source
3 McKinley Birthplace Home and Research Center (replica), 40 S. Main St.
Niles Trumbull County · source
4 First Ladies National Historic Site (Saxton McKinley House and National First Ladies' Library), 205 and 331 Market Ave. S.
Canton Stark County · source

Places in Ohio to see

McKinley Birthplace Home and Research Center (museum)
40 S Main St, Niles, Trumbull County ZIP 44446 · Niles · Trumbull County
McKinley National Memorial (grave)
800 McKinley Monument Dr NW, Canton, Stark County ZIP 44708 · Canton · Stark County

Ohio places

Where William McKinley was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

Born: Niles, Trumbull County (McKinley Birthplace Home and Research Center (reconstruction), 40 S Main St) ZIP 44446 · Niles · Trumbull County
Worked: Canton, Stark County (law practice from 1867) ZIP 44702 · Canton · Stark County
Buried: Canton, Stark County (McKinley National Memorial, 7th St NW (800 McKinley Monument Dr NW)) ZIP 44708 · Canton · Stark County

In their words

Protection is but the law of nature, the law of self-preservation, of self-development.
1892 speech, as quoted in Wikipedia

Myths and corrections

Things often said about William McKinley, and what the record shows.

Often said McKinley was shot on September 14, 1901, moments after handing his lapel carnation to a young admirer (as told on the Rodman Public Library's carnation page).

The record He was shot on September 6, 1901, and died eight days later on September 14. The carnation hand-off is a widely repeated story; the Ohio Statehouse presents it as a report, and no opened source documents it firsthand. source

Pictures

Free to use with the credit shown. Select a picture for the original and its license.

Collection: Cornell University Collection of Political Americana, Cornell University Library Repository: Susan...
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Berthe Arnold - age 4 - from Colorado Springs - during campaign for William McKinley for president - Protectio...
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Harper's Weekly -- Assassination of William McKinley
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Apparently this was the ancestral home of William McKinley, 25th US President? The rafters were used for stora...
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Wooden staircases against elaborate wallpaper First Ladies National Historic Site Keywords: First Ladies Natio...
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Staircase and ceiling decorated with elaborate wallpaper First Ladies National Historic Site Keywords: First L...
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Elaborate ceiling paper First Ladies National Historic Site Keywords: First Ladies National Historic Site; Fir...
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Fabric sample First Ladies National Historic Site Keywords: First Ladies National Historic Site; First Ladies;...
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Red brick house First Ladies National Historic Site Keywords: First Ladies National Historic Site; First Ladie...
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Room decorated with sofa, table, papers, globe and photograph First Ladies National Historic Site Keywords: Fi...
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Parlor with furniture, fireplace, and painting of Ida Saxton McKinley First Ladies National Historic Site Keyw...
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