Matter of Fact Monday

I present a variety of little known presidential facts here to go with the Matter of Fact Monday theme of PRESIDENTS:

1) As sheriff of Erie County, NY, Grover Cleveland once volunteered to serve as executioner. when Jack Morrissey was sentenced to death for killing his mother in 1872, Cleveland declared that he would handle the execution of Morrissey because he couldn't in good conscience impose that duty upon another. Cleveland was elected president in 1884, despite the fact that his opponents decried him as the "Buffalo Hangman."

2) President John Tyler was saved by his son-in-law's singing of a military song. He paused as he ws about to climb the ladder to return to the deck of the warship Princeton to see the third firing of what was the world's largest cannon, the Peacemaker. As the gun was fired, its breech exploded, sending shards or hot iron into the crowd. Six people were killed, including Tyler's Secretary of State and US Navy Secretary.

3) It was President Millard Filmore who in 1852, triggered the establishment of diplomatic relations with Japan. His purpose for the securing the treaty was to open trade and secure for the U.S. a place where it's ships could obtain supplies. Filmore, the 13th president, never ran for office. He was appointed when Zachary Taylor died in office and served 30 months.

Source: The Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told by Rick Beyer