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This Was the Unhealthiest U.S. President

2 minute read

Donald Trump’s doctor said in a statement earlier today that the GOP frontrunner would be the “healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency” if he wins the 2016 election. It’s hard to fact-check such a sweeping absolute statement without at least performing a physical on Trump ourselves — and there isn’t exactly a reigning “healthiest president” to pit against Trump.

The designation for “unhealthiest president,” however, is easier to bestow: President William Henry Harrison died after only a month in office in 1841.

There are no reports of a chronic condition at the time of his election in 1940; Harrison rather fell ill shortly after taking office. He had won the presidential race with his running mate John Tyler, becoming America’s first Whig president-elect.

Read more: Twitter Loves Donald Trump’s Doctor

On the morning of March 4, Harrison took his Oath of Office at the Capitol Building’s East Portico. It was a cold, windy day, with a noon temperature estimated at 48 degrees Fahrenheit. Harrison was woefully underdressed for the cold, opting to not wear a coat or any reasonable outerwear. He proceeded to give the longest Inaugural address in U.S. history.

In addition to speaking for two hours in the cold, Harrison attended three different Inauguration balls. The exposure to the weather and frivolity proved too much for the new President and he caught a cold that persisted, soon developing into pneumonia.

Harrison spent the bulk of his 31 days as Commander in Chief battling the malady, before he died in Washington D.C. on April 4. John Tyler became the first person to become President through the death of the predecessor as a result.

Harrison was by no means the only president without a perfect doctor’s note during his tenure, but it’s hard to say that any other president was quite as hindered by his own health.

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Write to Julia Zorthian at julia.zorthian@time.com