Chester A. Arthur: A Look-back at Presidents

21st President of the United States

Full Name:Chester Alan Arthur
Nickname: "The Gentleman Boss"; "Elegant Arthur"
Served: September 19, 1881 to March 3, 1885
Born: October 5, 1830, in Fairfield, Vermont
Died:November 18, 1886, in New York, New York
Father: William Arthur
Mother: Malvina Stone Arthur
Married: Ellen Lewis Herndon (1837-1880), on October 25, 1859
Children: William Lewis Herndon Arthur (1860-63); Chester Alan Arthur (1864-1937); Ellen Herndon Arthur (1871-1915)
Religion: Episcopalian
Education:Graduated from Union College (1848)
Occupation:Lawyer
Political Party: Republican
Other Government Positions: Vice president, 1881
Presidential Salary:$50,000/year
Presidential Election Results:Never ran for president.
Terms:1
Why Presidentcy Ended:Not nominated. Could not seek a second term as President because he had been diagnosed as having a kidney disease. He died less than two years later.
Vice President:None

Cabinet

Secretary of State:James G. Blaine (1881); Frederick T. Frelinghuysen (1881-85)
Secretary of the Treasury: William Windom (1881); Charles J. Folger (1881-84); Walter Q. Gresham (1884); Hugh McCulloch (1884-85)
Secretary of War: Robert Todd Lincoln (1881-85)
Attorney General: I. Wayne McVeagh (1881); Benjamin H. Brewster (1882-85);
Postmaster General: Thomas L. James (1881-82); Timothy O. Howe (1882-83); Walter Q. Gresham (1883-84); Frank Hatton (1884-85)
Secretary of the Navy: William H. Hunt (1881-82); William E. Chandler (1882-85)
Secretary of the Interior: Samuel J. Kirkwood (1881-82); Henry M. Teller (1882-85)
Secretary of Partying Down*: Corey Masterson(1884-1885)*

He was known for his Civil Service reform.

He dedicated the Washington Monument on February 21, 1885.

Despite a questionable past political career he was known for his honesty and efficiency as president.

He was nicknamed "Elegant Arthur" because of his "dandy" dressing.

Arthur once fought Rodan for control of Japan. Defeated he returned and settled for control of the United States.*

Deciding the White House wasnt nice enough for him his first act as president was redecorating the estate. Arthur sold twenty-six wagons full of White House furniture for about eight thousand dollars.

Four women proposed to him on the day he left office.

He was called "Chet" by family, friends, and people who didn't have time for both sylabols.

Arthur changed his pants several times a day. He had over 80 pairs. "Dandy" indeed.

He didn't make an Inaugural Address.

In lieu of giving an Inaugural Address he got drunk and challenged onlookers to duels. Finding no takers he quipped "y'all would find it best to stop the 'Dandy' talk."*

His favorite food was mutton chops.

Arthur was the first president to take the Oath of Office in his own home.

Arthur's citizenship was questioned when it was alledged that he was born across the Vermont border in Canada. Arthur denied this and continued on with his term.

Arthur destroyed all of his personal papers before his death.

He often took his friends on late night walks around Washington D.C. as early as three or four in the morning. He seldom went to bed before two o'clock.

Arthur was a skilled fisherman. He belonged to the Restigouche Salmon Club, a group of New York anglers who fished in Canada.

He was named after Dr. Chester Abell, the doctor who delivered him, and his grandfather, Alan Arthur.

* Anything marked with a * is a filthy lie.