Fun Fact 3: Chester Arthur served in During the the Civil War, he worked as a quartermaster organising supplies and provisions, he gradually worked his way up the ranks and became brigadier general
Fun Fact 4: Chester Alan Arthur married Ellen Lewis Herndon on 25 October 1859, together they had three children
Fun Fact 5: Sadly, Ellen died before he took office, and Chester's younger sister, Mary served as the unofficial First Lady and helped him to look after his children
Fun Fact 6: Chester Alan Arthur became the 21st president of America on September 20, 1881 when he was 50 years of age, he served for 4 years until 1885
Fun Fact 7: Chester Alan Arthur wasn't elected to be President, he succeeded to office after the assassination of James Garfield in 1881
Fun Fact 8: Chester Alan Arthur became second vice president of the US to become President due to an assassination, the other was Andrew Johnson after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865
Fun Fact 9: The presidency of Chester Alan Arthur was prominent for the legislation of 'The Pendleton Civil Service Act', the main purpose of this act was to prevent corruption in the government by initiating tests to gain employment within government and to assess and appraise the workforce on a regular basis
Fun Fact 10: Chester Alan Arthur played a key role in developing the progress of the nation after the reconstruction era. He also signed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which halted the immigration of Chinese people for ten years
Fun Fact 11: Chester Alan Arthur was given the nicknames "The Gentleman Boss" and "Elegant Arthur" because of the smartness of his clothing. He was very particular about what he wore and would regularly change his clothes, sometimes several times a day!
Fun Fact 12: During his presidency Chester Alan Arthur instructed famous New York Designer Louis Comfort Tiffany to luxuriously redecorate the White House
Fun Fact 13: On May 24, 1883 the Brooklyn Bridge was opened for the first time, the ceremony was attended by Chester Arthur and the mayor of New York, several thousand people witnessed the opening ceremony, and numerous people were trampled as they rushed to be the first to cross the prominent structure
Fun Fact 14: Midway through Chester Alan Arthur's presidency, he discovered that he had a serious kidney illness called Bright’s disease. He tried his hardest to keep the news secret and did not run for re-election as he believed he only had a short time to live, he saw out his presidency and died eighteen months later
Fun Fact 15: Chester Arthur died on November 18, 1886 in New York. He was 56 years old, and was buried in Albany, New York |
