History says that Abraham Lincoln was the first American president to be assassinated. A different theory however, supported by novelist Clara Rising proposes that it may have been Zachary Taylor.

Taylor died in 1850 under what may have been suspicious circumstances. Accounts say that Taylor walked back to the White House after having attended a celebration of the construction of the Washington monument. Inside, he ate a meal of milk and vegetables. He fell ill afterwards, suffering from cramps and vomiting. He died after six days.

There may have been motivation for poisoning Taylor. Although he was a slave owner, he was against extending slavery to Utah, New Mexico and California. Political supporters of slavery extension may have been seriously displeased.

Tests for arsenic were performed on the exhumed body of the president in 1991. The results however were a blow to the Taylor assassination theory. He did not test positive for arsenic poisoning.

Fact or Fiction?
To this day, gastroenteritis or severe ulcers are still regarded as the possible causes of Taylor’s death. Some maintain however that the president’s body was tested only for arsenic. There were other poisonous substances that an assassin could have used. This however is not an angle that many historians entertain.

*Photo from the White House Historical Society