05/19/2024
We often celebrate the two Presidents who were born here, Chester A. Arthur and Calvin Coolidge. But how many Vice Presidents can you name? Both Arthur and Coolidge were in the office (and became President after their respective predecessors died in office), but there was one more: Levi Morton, who served between March 4, 1889 – March 4, 1893 under Benjamin Harrison.
Morton celebrates an unusual anniversary today: he was born 200 years ago on this day in 1824 in Shoreham and died 104 years ago today in 1920. His father was a minister and he grew up there and in Springfield. He and his family eventually moved to Massachusetts, and he settled into a career in the shipping industry in Boston, New York and became an investment banker. He eventually represented Manhattan in Congress and under James Garfield's administration, he was named Minister to France.
During the 1888 Presidential election, Harrison selected him as his VP. After his term was up in 1893, he ran for the Governor of New York, serving between 1895 and 1896.
