Operation Assassination: Had Twenty Years Been Made?

We're celebrating Operation Assassination, a trivia-laden white paper I compiled 25 years ago that indirectly spawned this blog. In 2000, I combined my original paper with material I found online that I published on a GeoCities account. As part of this retrospect, I revisited what I found and republished the information.

After reviewing the list of presidential assassinations, another list surfaced about those who died in office and how most of those were elected in years divisible by 20. The chapter "Fatal Twnety" in Daniel Cohen's Famous Curses (1979) explores the presidents and how they died, but Cohen does not attempt to explain the origin. They just started dying in 1840 and every 20 years after that. 

By 2000, when I expanded the original  Operation Assassination, I found references to the list called Tecumseh's Curse – named for the leader of the Shawnee people and the curse placed on the Indiana Territory governor William Henry Harrison following the Battle of Tippecanoe. That made a bit more sense in that something served as the catalyst for the string of events, but still.

The gist of the "curse" is that eight presidents have died in office since 1840. Seven of them were elected in years divisible by 20. At first glance, this may seem impressive, but to truly understand its impact, one must consider how a president fits into the cycle. Some succumb to the curse within their first term, while others "get in" by being elected to a second term (or, in one case, a third and fourth term).  

Who died in this 20-year cycle?

• 1840: William Henry Harrison – died April 4, 1841
• FIrst elected in 1840, died during his first term
• 1860: Abraham Lincoln – died on April 15, 1865
• First elected in 1860, re-elected in 1864; died during his second term
• 1880: James A. Garfield – died September 19, 1881
• First elected in 1880; died during his first term
• 1900: William McKinley – died September 14, 1901
• First elected in 1896, re-elected in 1900; died during his second term
• 1920: Warren G. Harding – died August 2, 1923
• First elected in 1920; died during his first term
• 1940: Franklin D. Roosevelt – died on April 12, 1945
• First elected in 1932; reelected in 1936, 1940, and 1944; died during his fourth term
• 1960: John F. Kennedy – died November 22, 1963
• First elected in 1960; died during his first term

Who didn't make the 20-year cycle?

• 1800: Thomas Jefferson –survived presidential tenure, died July 4, 1826
• 1820: James Monroe – survived presidential tenure, died July 4, 1831 
• 1980: Ronald Reagan – survived presidential tenure, died June 5, 2004
• 2000: George W. Bush – survived presidential tenure

Who died in office but didn't make the 20-year cycle, either?

• 1848: Zachary Taylor – died July 9, 1850
• First elected in 1848; died during his first term

Two final thoughts:

1. All those who didn't make the original 20-year list died (thus far) in months beginning with J. J is the tenth letter of the alphabet, so -- eh...spooky!
2. See you next year!