James A. Garfield served as the 20th President of the United States in 1881. He was born in a log cabin in Orange Township, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in 1831 and later led Hiram College as a young educator.
A Republican, Garfield served as a Union general and spent about seventeen years in Congress before winning the presidency.
Key Moments
On July 2, 1881, Charles Guiteau, a disappointed office seeker, shot Garfield at a Washington train station. He died on September 19, 1881. His death helped build support for the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883.
Ohio Connection
His Mentor home, Lawnfield, is the James A. Garfield National Historic Site, where he ran a front porch campaign in 1880. He is buried in the Garfield Memorial at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland.
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