Facts You Probably don’t Need

• John Tyler was born on March 29, 1790 — just over a year after George Washington became the first President of the United States.

• In 1813, Tyler married his first wife, Letitia Christian. The couple had eight children together.

• In 1840, Tyler was elected Vice President on the Whig party ticket alongside William Henry Harrison. When Harrison died just 31 days into his term, Tyler became the 10th President of the United States, setting the precedent for vice presidential succession.

• Letitia Tyler died while living in the White House. Two years later, in 1844, Tyler married Julia Gardiner, who served as First Lady for the final eight months of his presidency. They had seven children, including Lyon Tyler, born in 1853.

• At the start of the Civil War in 1861, Tyler advocated for a peaceful resolution between North and South. When that hope was lost, he sided with the Confederacy and was elected as a representative from Virginia to the new government. He died before taking office.

• Lyon Tyler later became president of the College of William & Mary. He also married twice, and in 1928, his son — John Tyler’s grandson — Harrison Ruffin Tyler was born.

• On May 25, 2025, Harrison Ruffin Tyler, the grandson of the 10th U.S. president, died at age 96. The span between John Tyler’s birth and his grandson’s death was 235 years.

          Facts by Sean McVeigh, factologist.