Artist Breathes New Life Into Photos Of US Presidents Who Lived Before Color Photography (26 Pics)

This portrait was taken in February, just a few months before the end of the American Civil War and that fateful night at Ford’s Theatre. Despite being a relatively plainly dressed individual, Lincoln viewed his heavy gold watch as a sign of his success as a lawyer and wanted it to be on clear display to people.
His watch also contained a secret message, a message so secret that even Lincoln was likely unaware of it.
In 1861, the pictured watch was being repaired by a Jonathon Dillon. Dillon was interrupted mid repair with the news that the civil war had begun. Dillon quickly etched a message inside, which was as followed: “Jonathan Dillon April 13-1861. Fort Sumpter was attacked by the rebels on the above date J Dillon April 13-1861 Washington. thank God we have a government Jonth Dillon.” This secret message was not commonly known about until 2009, when a relatively of Dillon contacted the Smithsonian with the family legend of the hidden message.

Theodore Roosevelt died at the age of 60, in his sleep. The Vice President at the time, Thomas R. Marshall summed up his death, and his life, as follows, “Death had to take Roosevelt sleeping, for if he had been awake, there would have been a fight.” Roosevelt was a government minister, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, when the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898. Roosevelt resigned from the government and insisted on going to fight on the front lines as a volunteer. Roosevelt’s national reputation would be secured after the Battle of Kettle Hill, where he personally led his troops to victory trough heavy gunfire and barbed wire.
Upon the assassination of William McKinley, Roosevelt became the youngest President in history at the age of 42.

So in short, there was a brief amount of time, maximum of a day, between when the 11th President James K Polk stood down and the 12th elected President Zachary Taylor took the inaugurational pledge. This was due to Taylor refusing to take the pledge on the Sabbath day of religious rest.
So for this short amount of time it’s not as clear as it could be who was actually President. For some, it was David Rice Atchison who was potentially the President Pro Tempore at time. (Making him third in line after the Vice President) Although this is hotly debated and most historians believe it was still Zachary Taylor, even if Taylor may not have wanted it to be!

The first things which always leap to mind about Van Buren were that he was the first President to be born as an American, rather than as a colonial British, citizen. The other is that he was born to Dutch parents in New York and raised with English as his second language.
Adding to the war of 1812, the war of 1838 could have very easily been a thing had it not been for Van Buren’s diplomatic abilities. When a faction of British citizens in Canada decided to rebel against the Government they were initially defeated, fleeing into Northern America and establishing the ‘Republic of Canada’ with help from sympathetic American citizens.

Ulysses S. Grant is probably one of the few people for whom being President of the United States would be their second most notable role in life. Grant fought in the Mexican-American War and later in the Civil War where he would quickly raise up the ranks to General and eventually end up leading the Union Armies on behalf of President Lincoln.

So William Howard Taft was both President of the United States and later Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, he’s mostly remembered for getting trapped in a bathtub, and that may not have even happened.
So ‘Big Bill’ as he was nicknamed by the press of the time, was 5ft,11” and during his Presidency he weighed around 340lbs, or 154Kg.

So James Buchanan is frequently viewed as one of America’s worst Presidents. In the over 230 years of people holding the office of Presidency, his single term of 4 years in the job is not viewed favourably by many.
This is broadly due to the Civil War breaking out within weeks of his leaving office. His Presidential actions or his lack thereof, are viewed as causing it to happen.

Calvin Coolidge seems to be quite politically incongruent when you compare his apparent political nature and the policies which he actually pursued.
Despite his ruthlessness on occasion, it would seem that Coolidge always had one eye on protecting the American people, regardless of their background.

Warren G. Harding’s Presidency was initially viewed quite favourably by the public. He worked to secure peace with other nations and he began the large scale investment in the American highway system. Harding also fought hard to improve the working conditions for many Americans, particularly steel workers.