President William McKinley : Health & Medical History

Health and Medical History of President William McKinley President #25 Lived: 1843-1901 Served: 1897-1901 Timeline from 1776: ← 2013 Maladies: memory · height · cried in office · the grippe · assassination · · Odds & Ends · · Resources
UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Maladies and Conditions

memory	Boller 2a says: McKinley had a remarkable memory for faces and names... Once, while waiting for ceremonies to begin at the dedication of a monument at the Antietam battlefield, he walked over to the edge of the platform and called down to an old veteran in blue, "Hello, comrade, I saw you in the crowd at Gettysburg last month when I spoke there, didn't I?" Astonished, the veteran exclaimed, "Yes, but how did you recognize me?" Queried about his memory afterward, McKinley shrugged it off: "Oh, I don't know, it just comes naturally."
height	McKinley was 5 feet 7 inches tall, shorter than the average man. He was ridiculed as a "little boy" when he ran for President in 1896 7. Comment: This is a clear illustration that politics always has been, and always will be, a nasty business. McKinley's manhood should not have been open to challenge, given that he enlisted in the Army at age 17, just weeks after the Civil War began at Ft. Sumter, and that he served in the field virtually the entire war, including the battles of South Mountain, Antietam, Winchester, Cedar Creek, and countless others 6a.
cried in office	[Interesting that McKinley advised to take advantage of a physiological fact to conceal from others that he had been crying.] 4a MORE
the grippe	"At the beginning of the next season [1899?] a New Year's reception was held. After that the President was taken sick with the grip [sic], and consequently all the receptions and dinner parties were over for that season." 8a
assassination	McKinley was shot at close range on Sept. 6, 1901. He underwent surgery within hours. He survived the operation, but died on the ninth post-operative day. Both his post-operative course MORE 3a and his autopsy MORE 3b have been meticulously documented 10 9. There was intense controversy about McKinley's medical care MORE. Some thought that McKinley could have been saved had renowned surgeon Roswell Park performed the operation MORE. More recent commentators believe, however, that McKinley died from pancreatic necrosis, a condition which is still difficult to treat today, and which the surgeons of McKinley's time could not have treated or prevented 5.

Odds & Ends

Like James Polk, and unlike Woodrow Wilson, McKinley paid great attention to his handshake. Boller notes 2b:
McKinley's handshake was famous. To save wear and tear on his right hand at receptions, the President developed what came to be called the "McKinley grip." In receiving lines, he would smile as a man came by, take his right hand and squeeze it warmly before his own hand got caught in a hard grip, hold the man's elbow with his left hand, and then swiftly pull him along and be ready to beam on the next guest. MORE
Pendel says 8b: "The President always took great delight in shaking hands with the people. He told one of the officials at the White House that he took more delight in shaking hands with the people than he did at one of the state dinners. It seemed to be a great gratification to him to meet the masses of the people."
Pendel 8c says: "President McKinley was a remarkable man; he was genial, a natural magnet. He drew the masses of the people to him. Always had a kind word, greeting with the extension of his hand every one that called on him, and endeavored to make them feel happy and at home."
McKinley's wife, Ida, was subject to headaches and seizures. In order to attend to her, if necessary, McKinley broke tradition and sat next to her at official dinners. For example, one evening at dinner with William Taft, "a peculiar hissing sound" came from Mrs. McKinley. McKinley quickly picked up a napkin, dropped it over her face, and continued talking. Mrs. McKinley recovered a few moments later, and resumed her part in the conversation where she had left off 2c. To those around them, "They were a very happy man and wife" 8d.
Seldes charges that editorials in the New York Journal inspired McKinley's assassin. He claims that "the only man in public life courageous enough to say so was Theodore Roosevelt." 11a
As an attorney, McKinley once used of medicine's oldest techniques to win a malpractice suit brought against his client, a surgeon. MORE
Army general Dr. Leonard Wood and surgeon general Dr. George Sternberg may have been McKinley presidential physicians before Rixey (see below). Dr. William Osler consulted on Mrs. McKinley. (I cannot now find where I read this. However, 1 quotes from Osler's own summary of 1901: "Two consultations at the White House and several Cabinet Ministers are responsible for a considerable increase in patients from the Capital." It is also possible that Osler was referring to Theodore Roosevelt's White House.)
In June 1925, Dr. Presley M. Rixey, White House physician to both McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, wrote an article called "Guarding the Health of Our Presidents" for a popular magazine called Better Health. Once accustomed to the author's ego, the article is an interesting narrative of a serious illness Mrs. McKinley suffered while traveling. It is also a reminder of the way antibiotics have changed the way humans live... and die. MORE 3c

Resources

Cited Resources

Bensley EW, Bates DG. Sir William Osler's autobiographical notes. Bull Hist Med. 1976; 50: 596-618.
Boller, Paul F. Jr. Presidential Anecdotes. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981.0195029151 Libraries 80-27092. ap. 189 bp. 188 cpp. 189-190
Braisted, William C.; Bell, William Hemphill; Rixey, Presley Marion. The Life Story of Presley Marion Rixey: Surgeon General, U. S. Navy 1902-1910: Biography and Autobiography. Strasburg, VA: Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc., 1930. Libraries. app. 51-70 bpp. 71-82 cpp. 454-461
Comment: Rixey was the White House physician for both William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.
Butt, Archibald W. Taft and Roosevelt: The Intimate Letters of Archie Butt, Military Aide. Garden City, NY: Doubleday (1930). Volume 1: pages 1-432. Volume 2: pages 433-862. Libraries. app. 733-734
Comment: Butt, an Army officer, was military aide first to President Theodore Roosevelt and then to President William Taft. On April 14, 1912, Butt was at sea aboard the Titanic returning from a European vacation that Taft had insisted he take. President Taft later said: "When I heard that part of the ship's company had gone down, I gave up hope for the rescue of Major Butt, unless by accident. I knew that he would certainly remain on the ship's deck until every duty had been performed and every sacrifice made that properly fell on one charged, as he would feel himself charged, with responsibility for the rescue of others." Taft was correct. Butt did not survive the sinking.
Fisher, Jack. Stolen Glory: The McKinley Assassination. Alamar Books, 2001. Libraries.
Halstead, Murat. The Illustrious Life of William McKinley, Our Martyred President. 1901. Libraries. app. 114-121
Page, Susan. Time-tested formulas suggest both Bush and Kerry will win on Nov. 2. USA Today. June 23, 2004.
Comment: Accessed through usatoday.com: http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-06-23-bush-kerry-cover_x.htm
Pendel, Thomas F. Thirty-Six Years in the White House. Washington: Neale Publishing Company, 1902. Libraries. app. 156-157 bp. 160 cp. 166 dp. 161
Comment: Pendel was door-keeper at the White House from the time of Lincoln to the time of Theodore Roosevelt. Full text is available on-line at loc.gov. It's a rather dry book, and reads as if it were written by an old man. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?lhbcbbib:1:./temp/~~ammem_rEou::
Rixey, PM; Mann, MD; Mynter, H; Park, R; Wasdin, E; McBurney, C; Stockton, CG. The official report on the case of President McKinley. J.A.M.A. 1901;37:1029.
Rixey, PM; Mann, MD; Mynter, H; Park, R; Wasdin, E; McBurney, C; Stockton, CG. Death of President McKinley. J.A.M.A. 1901;37:779.
Seldes, George. Witness to a Century. New York: Ballantine Books, 1987.0345331818 Libraries 86-47804. app. 28, 382

Other Resources

Pubmed Search (11 matches when checked in March 2013.)

Health and Medical History of President William McKinley

Health and Medical History of President
William McKinley