James Garfield's Birthday on November 19

The nation’s 20th president, James Abram Garfield, was born on November 19, 1831 in Orange, Ohio, just a little more than a quarter century after the Buckeye State was admitted to the Union. Today, we commemorate the 181th anniversary of his birth.

Garfield is one of our least known presidents, owing in part to the fact that he only served for about five and a half months. Less than four months into his term, he was shot on July 2, 1881 in Washington, DC. He lingered and clung to life until dying on September 19, 1881.

Garfield was a dark horse candidate for president, having received the Republican nomination on the 36th ballot.