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Health and Medical History of President Grover ClevelandPresident #22 & 24: 1885-1889 and 1893-1897
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[After his cancer operation:] "My God, Olney, they nearly killed me." 1a |
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This style... | ... means the event occurred while President. |
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![]() ![]() leg laceration |
As a youth he cut on his leg fleeing from a belltower one night. He and another boy had snuck
in during darkness to ring the bell and awaken the entire town. Cleveland was sliding down
a drain pipe when he was cut by a projecting piece of metal
2a.
Comment:
It should be remembered that in the pre-antibiotic era such injuries could be fatal.
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![]() obesity |
As a child Cleveland was "chubby and large for his age. For most of his life ... he had
a tendency to be obese"
2a.
In his early-mid 30s he was large enough that some of his nieces and nephews called him "Uncle
Jumbo"
2a.
At his inaguration as governor of New York (age 45) "Cleveland wanted to present the proper
image. However, because of his size, he had no illusions that he could appear both dignified
and handsome"
2b.
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![]() typhoid fever |
He almost died from typhoid fever in Buffalo, NY at age 18. Extremely ill for several weeks,
he was treated with a starvation diet and bed rest
2c.
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![]() liked beer |
Cleveland liked beer. Boller
3a
relates the following story of Cleveland's 1870 campaign for district attorney of Erie County,
New York:
[Cleveland] and his friendly opponent, Lyman K. Bass, agreed to drink only four glasses of beer daily. But after they had met a few times on warm summer evenings to talk things over, they decided that their ration was too skimpy and so began to "anticipate" their future supply. A few evenings later, Bass suddenly exclaimed: "Grover, do you know we have anticipated the whole campaign?" Cleveland nodded sorrowfully. The next night, however, both of them brought huge tankards to the saloon, christened them "glasses," and had no problem with the ration after that.Cleveland had "a huge beer belly" 2a. |
![]() cigars |
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![]() temper |
"He had a temper that quickly showed when he failed to have his own way."
4a
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![]() daughter |
During the 1884 presidential campaign, a disreputable newspaper in Buffalo, NY published allegations
that Cleveland fathered an illegitimate son with a 36 year old widow, Maria Halpin, in 1874.
Cleveland was never sure the child was his. But because he could not be sure the child was
not his, he did the honorable thing and "consented to make provision for the child"
MORE
5a.
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![]() jaw cancer |
On June 13, 1893, Cleveland noticed a "rough place" on the roof of his mouth. It
was diagnosed as cancer, precipitating one of the most celebrated incidents in the history
of Presidential medicine.
MORE
Ultimately, on July 1, the President underwent a risky operation aboard his yacht. At his
insistence, his illness and surgery were kept secret from the public, the press, the Cabinet,
and (one presumes) the Vice President. A second, less risky operation was performed aboard
the yacht on July 17.
Afterwards, direct questions about the President's health were answered
falsely. "Cleveland is alleged to have said that he had done more lying in the period
just before his surgery and the period immediately thereafter than he had ever done in the
remainder of his life"
2d.
It was 25 years before the secret was compromised.
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![]() hearing loss |
After the jaw operation, Cleveland wrote ...
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![]() early nephritis |
Disclosed during pre-operative assessment.
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![]() ![]() sleep apnea risk |
Several facts suggest Cleveland was at risk for obstructive sleep apnea. First, he was the
second-heaviest President
1c,
weighing over 280 lb by the time he was elected President
2a.
Only sleep apnea suffer
William Howard Taft
weighed more, and, like Taft, Cleveland was the butt of many obesity jokes
2b.
Second, he snored
6.
Third, he had a thick neck. (At the time of his cancer operation in 1893, Cleveland was
56 years old and was "extremely corpulent, with a short, thick neck"
1d.)
Although at risk, I have not yet found evidence suggesting he actually suffered from the
disease. It will be difficult to find such evidence. Unlike Taft, "who was fascinated
by his ailments and would describe them with minute detail"
7a,
Cleveland wrote few letters about his personal affairs or personal feelings until his last
years
8a.
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![]() gout |
He developed gout as early as 1885, when he was seen limping on his right foot at the funeral
of
Ulysses Grant
2b.
Cleveland's gout plagued him the rest of his life
MORE,
abetted, no doubt, by his beer intake. During his third campaign for the Presidency, in 1892,
gout enabled him to make only a few public appearances
2b.
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![]() diphtheria prophylaxis |
Cleveland's 12 year old daughter Ruth developed diphtheria in January 1904. Cleveland and the
rest of his family were treated prophylactically with anti-toxin
9a.
There was little that could be done for Ruth, however. Cleveland's diary palpably shows
the grief he suffered at her rapid, unexpected death.
MORE
Ruth had been a national celebrity since her birth in the White House. The candy bar named
after her lives on ("Baby Ruth").
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![]() ![]() mental state |
Cleveland died on June 24, 1908, age 71. Eight days earlier, his illness was discussed at a
meeting of
Theodore Roosevelt's
cabinet: "Straus [the Secretary of Commerce & Labor] announced that Cleveland is very
ill, in fact that he had pretty much lost his mind. Root [the Secretary of State] remarked
that when a man had been exerting great mental force and then suddenly stopped, it was sure
to happen; Wilson [secretary of Agriculture] added, more surely kill him."
10a
Comment:
Although current research is demonstrating that an active intellect is correlated with a reduced
risk of Alzheimer dementia, the decline of President Cleveland sounds more abrupt than the
typical Alzheimer course. It is unlikely that the theories of Root and Wilson are correct.
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During Presidency | After Presidency |
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![]() ![]() 24 reviews
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Ampres Series
![]() ![]() 49 reviews
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![]() ![]() 114 reviews
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![]() ![]() 39 reviews
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Kansas Series
![]() ![]() 2 reviews
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Nevins Series
![]() ![]() 3 reviews
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Nevins Series
![]() ![]() 3 reviews
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a p.315 b p.310 c p.4 d p.312
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a p.136 b p.137 c pp.136-137 d p.140
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.
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a p.178
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a p.215
Comment: Stoddard was editor and owner of the New York Evening Mail from 1900 to 1925.
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a pp.162-169
Comment: Won the Pulitzer Prize for biography.
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![]() | Comment: Credibility is dubious. Just before a list of Presidents, the article states: "Twenty of the 32 Presidents ... are proved or believed on a thick web of circumstance to have been nocturnal nuisances in the White House." |
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a p.1072
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a p.1
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a pp.327-328
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a p.397
Comment: Meyer was Postmaster General under Theodore Roosevelt and Secretary of the Navy under William Howard Taft.
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a p.433 b p.322
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
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