![]() |
Health and Medical History of President Zachary TaylorPresident #12: 1849-1850
↓
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() |
---|---|---|
"In two days I shall be a dead man." 1a |
||
This style... | ... means the event occurred while President. |
---|---|
![]() ![]() yellow fever |
Taylor joined the US Army in 1808 (age 23). He served under Brigadier General James Wilkinson
who, despite being a medical doctor, had almost half his men die from disease while encamped
in appalling conditions 12 miles south of New Orleans (during peacetime). Either there or at
Ft. Pickering (near today's Memphis, TN), Taylor contracted yellow fever. He returned
home to Louisville, KY to recover in Sept.-Oct. 1809
1b.
|
![]() ![]() dysentery |
Returning to the Army after his recovery from yellow fever, Taylor developed dysentery at a
fly-infested camp in Virginia. He once again returned home to recover
1c.
|
![]() malaria #1 |
Taylor, by now a captain, was in command of Ft. Knox in summer 1810, when he got malaria.
It recurred in late September, about the time the fort was attacked by Indians
1c.
|
![]() chewed tobacco |
Taylor chewed tobacco and spit it accurately. He did not smoke
|
![]() like a barrel |
|
![]() nearsighted |
Taylor's near-sightedness, it is supposed, unconsciously caused him to keep his eyelids half-closed
to sharpen his vision. This brought his heavy brows down and gave the impression of a fierce
scowl
1c.
|
![]() double vision |
At close range (including reading), Taylor had to keep one eye closed to prevent double vision
1c.
Comment:
Dr. Zebra is unsatisfied with these accounts of Taylor's visual problems. It would be
nicer to have a single pathological explanation for the two problems noted. Could it be amblyopia?
|
![]() malaria #2? |
In November 1838, during the Second Seminole War, Taylor (by now a Brigadier General) developed
fever. Probably malaria, it "confined me to my bed for near two weeks when so many was
[sic] dying around me"
1d.
|
![]() malaria #3 |
While stationed at Ft. Jessup, LA in July-August 1844, Taylor suffered several attacks of "bilious
fever" (malaria). He resumed his duties after a few days during which his condition had
been of concern, but remained weak for many months thereafter. After this episode he was ill
more than he had been in the past
1e.
|
![]() fever |
Taylor was confined to bed with fever for a few days in May 1846, as he prepared to take his
Army across the Rio Grande into Mexico
1f.
|
![]() ![]() cholera? |
While on a Presidential tour of the north in summer 1849, Taylor became ill a few days after
leaving Washington. It was thought to be the beginning of "cholera," but he recovered
rapidly and continued the tour -- only to have a relapse of severe diarrhea and fever in Erie,
PA. His physician feared for Taylor's life. The President recovered, continued the tour briefly,
then returned to Washington where, after about a month, his health appeared to normalize
1f.
|
![]() ![]() tired and haggard |
Scandal involved three members of Taylor's cabinet during the summer of 1850. During this stressful
time, Taylor's friends noticed he was looking tired and haggard
1f.
|
![]() ![]() ![]() typhoid? |
July 4, 1850 was a hot day in a hot and humid summer in Washington, DC. Dysentery was circulating
in town, though some said it was cholera
1g.
President Taylor, not in the best of health already (see above) attended various Independence
Day ceremonies. That evening he began having abdominal cramps, possibly the result of something
he ate. He steadily worsened: diarrhea and fever developed, and the diarrhea turned bloody.
His doctors tried what they could. He died on July 9.
Some details of those days are available
MORE,
but the cause of Taylor's death will probably never be known with certainty. Typhoid fever
has been proposed, with suspicion directed at the cherries Taylor ate on the 4th
2a.
|
![]() poisoned? |
Like virtually all Presidents, there were many people who might have wished Taylor dead. Because
of theories that Taylor might have been poisoned (most notably by strychnine), his body was
exhumed on June 17, 1991. With permission of descendants, samples of it were analyzed. Some
arsenic was found, but in quantities said to be too small to cause harm
1e.
This has not satisfied some commentators, who find flaws in the testing methods
3.
Comment:
A casual look at Zachary Taylor's health history shows that he was pretty well beaten up, medically,
by the summer of 1850. Furthermore, during the 1800s Washington, DC was a very unhealthy place
to be during the summer. Thus, it would have been easy enough for Mother Nature to carry off
Zachary Taylor without help from a poisoner. The burden of proof remains with those who suggest
Taylor's end was not natural.
|
Before Presidency | During Presidency |
---|---|
Ampres Series
![]() ![]() 48 reviews
|
Kansas Series
![]() ![]() 10 reviews
|
Signature Series
![]() ![]() 26 reviews
|
![]() |
a p.75 - He was right. b pp.72-73 c p.73, citing Marx, who, in turn, never provides references d p.73 e pp.73-74 f p.74 g p.75 h p.72
Comment: Devotes one chapter to each President, through Clinton. Written for the layperson, well-referenced, with areas of speculation clearly identified, Dr. Zebra depends heavily on this book. Dr. Bumgarner survived the Bataan Death March and has written an unforgettable book casting a physician's eye on that experience.
|
![]() |
a p.18
|
![]() |
a p.127
Comment: Maps -- in great detail -- the ancestors and descendants of American presidents through Ronald Reagan. They would have had an exhausting time with President Obama's family tree! MORE
|