William McKinley

A Republican congressman from Ohio, William McKinley beat out William Jennings Bryan in 1896 to become the 25th president of the United States. McKinley called for war against Spain in 1898, partly over the sinking of the battleship Maine. The war was over in four months, with the U.S. gaining control of Guam, Puerto Rico and The Philippines. McKinley was easily re-elected, this time with a new vice president, Theodore Roosevelt. Six months after his second inauguration, McKinley was shot twice in the chest by assassin Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. McKinley died eight days later and Roosevelt became president.

Extra credit: McKinley's inauguration was the first one ever filmed... McKinley had a distinguished career during the Civil War; in 1865, at the age of 22, he was breveted a major... McKinley's political career relied heavily on the financing of Ohio businessman Marcus A. Hanna... McKinley wore a pink carnation in his lapel.