Timeline
A chronology of key events in the life of James A. Garfield (1831-1881), U.S. president, army officer, lawyer, and educator.
James A. Garfield (1831-1881)
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1831, Nov. 19
Born, Orange, Ohio, the youngest of five children of Abram Garfield (1799-1833) and Eliza Ballou Garfield (1801-1888)
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1848, Aug.-Oct.
Worked on a canal boat
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1849
Entered Geauga Seminary, Chester, Ohio
Taught in district schools in Ohio -
1850, Mar.
Joined the Disciples of Christ
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1851-1853
Attended Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (later Hiram College), Hiram, Ohio. Taught in district schools between terms.
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1854-1856
Attended Williams College, Williamstown, Mass.
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1857-1861
President, Eclectic Institute of Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio; taught Latin, Greek, mathematics, history, philosophy, English literature, and rhetoric
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1858, Nov. 11
Married Lucretia Rudolph (Apr. 19, 1832-Mar. 14, 1918), daughter of Zeb Rudolph (1803-1897) and Arabella Mason Rudolph (1810-1879)
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1859
Elected to Ohio state senate
Law student, office of attorney Albert Gallatin Riddle, Cleveland, Ohio -
1860, July 3
Daughter Eliza Arabella ("Trot") Garfield born (d. Dec. 1, 1863)
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1861, Jan. 26
Admitted to the Ohio state bar
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1861, Aug. 21
Commissioned lieutenant colonel, 42nd Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry
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1861, Nov. 27
Promoted to colonel
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1862, Jan. 11
Promoted to brigadier general of volunteers
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1862, Sept. 25
Assigned to court martial board in Washington, D.C., and heard the Fitz-John Porter court martial External case among others
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1863, Feb.
Appointed chief of staff under General William S. Rosecrans
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1863, Sept. 19
Participated in the Battle of Chickamauga
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1863, Sept. 19
Appointed major general; received notification of the promotion in November 1863
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1863, Oct. 11
Son Harry Augustus Garfield born (d. Dec. 12, 1942)
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1863, Dec. 5
Resigned from army to take seat in U.S. House of Representatives
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1863, Dec.-1880
Member, United States House of Representatives
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1865, Oct. 17
Son James Rudolph Garfield born (d. Mar. 24, 1950)
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1867, Jan. 16
Daughter Mary ("Mollie") Garfield Stanley-Brown born (d. Nov. 30,
1947) -
1869, Jan.
Purchased home at 1227 I Street, NW, at the corner of 13th and I Streets, NW, on Franklin Square in Washington, D.C.
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1869-1871
Chair, Committee on Banking and Currency
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1870, Aug. 3
Son Irvin McDowell Garfield born (d. July 19, 1951)
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1871-1875
Chair, Committee on Appropriations
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1872, Sept. 4
New York Sun reporting on the Credit Mobilier scandal implicated Garfield and other political figures of having profited in the scheme by receiving shares of railroad stock in exchange for legislative support; Garfield denied the allegation.
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1872, Nov. 21
Son Abram Garfield born (d. Oct. 16, 1958)
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1874, Dec. 26
Son Edward ("Neddie") Garfield born (d. Oct. 25, 1876)
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1876, Oct. 31
Purchased property for home in Mentor, Ohio, named "Lawnfield" during the 1880 presidential campaign
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1876-1880
Served as Republican minority leader in U.S. House of Representatives
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1877
Member, Electoral Commission charged to decide disputed presidential election of 1876
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1879-1881
President, Literary Society of Washington, Washington, D.C.
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1880, Jan. 13
Elected to the United States Senate from Ohio
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1880, June 8
Nominated on the thirty-sixth ballot as Republican Party’s presidential candidate, with Chester A. Arthur as the vice presidential candidate
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1880, Nov. 5
Elected President of the United States
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1880, Dec. 23
Declined seat in United States Senate
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1880-1881
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1881, July 2
Shot by Charles J. Guiteau at Baltimore & Potomac Railroad Station, Washington, D.C.
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1881, Sept. 6
Moved to house at the seashore at Elberon, N.J.
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1881, Sept. 19
Died, Elberon, N.J., and buried at Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio