Video: 'Harding Dead (1920-1923)'
(Thursday, August 2, 1923, at around 7:30 p.m. PST) — Warren G. Harding, the 29th President of the United States, died tonight of congestive heart failure during a conversation with his wife in the Palace Hotel’s presidential suite in San Francisco, California.
Harding, who was 57, would be succeeded as president by Vice President Calvin Coolidge, who would take the oath of office as the 30th president four hours later.
Harding fell ill while on a tour of the western United States. Harding went to bed early the evening of July 27, 1923, a few hours after giving the speech at the University of Washington.
Later that night, he called for his physician Charles E. Sawyer, complaining of pain in the upper abdomen. Sawyer thought that it was a recurrence of stomach upset, but Dr. Joel T. Boone suspected a heart problem.
The press was told Harding had experienced an “acute gastrointestinal attack” and his scheduled weekend in Portland was cancelled.
He felt better the next day, as the train rushed to San Francisco, where they arrived the morning of July 29. He insisted on walking from the train to the car, and was then rushed to the Palace Hotel, where he suffered a relapse.
Video: 'Warren G. Harding: America's 29th President' (Aug. 2, 1923, at 12:48)
Doctors found that not only was his heart causing problems, but also that he had pneumonia, and he was confined to bed rest in his hotel room. Doctors treated him with liquid caffeine and digitalis, and he seemed to improve.
By this afternoon, Harding’s condition still seemed to be improving and his doctors allowed him to sit up in bed.
At around 7:30 p.m. this evening, first lady Florence Harding was reading to him “A Calm Review of a Calm Man,” a flattering article about him from The Saturday Evening Post; she paused and he told her, “That’s good. Go on, read some more.”
Those were to be his last words. She resumed reading when, a few seconds later, Harding twisted convulsively and collapsed back in the bed, gasping. Florence Harding immediately called the doctors into the room, but they were unable to revive him with stimulants; Harding was pronounced dead a few minutes later.
Harding’s death was initially attributed to a cerebral hemorrhage, as doctors at the time did not generally understand the symptoms of cardiac arrest. Florence Harding did not consent to have the president autopsied.
Harding’s unexpected death came as a great shock to the nation. He was liked and admired, both the press and public had followed his illness closely, and had been reassured by his apparent recovery.
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Harding’s body was carried to his train in a casket for a journey across the nation, which was followed closely in the newspapers. Nine million people lined the railroad tracks as the train carrying his body proceeded from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., where he lay in state at the United States Capitol rotunda.
After funeral services there, Harding’s body was transported to Marion, Ohio, for burial.
In Marion, Harding’s body was placed on a horse-drawn hearse, which was followed by President Coolidge and Chief Justice (and former President) William H. Taft, then by Harding’s widow and his father.
They followed the hearse through the city, past the Star building and finally to the Marion Cemetery where the casket was placed in the cemetery’s receiving vault.
Funeral guests included inventor Thomas Edison and industrialist businessmen Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone.
Warren Harding and Florence Harding, who died the following year, rest in the Harding Tomb, which was dedicated in 1931 by U.S. President Herbert Hoover.
Harding died as one of the most popular presidents in history, but the subsequent exposure of scandals eroded his popular regard, as did revelations of extramarital affairs.
Harding’s Interior Secretary, Albert B. Fall, and his Attorney General, Harry Daugherty, were each later tried for corruption in office. Fall was convicted though Daugherty was not. These greatly damaged Harding’s posthumous reputation.
