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William McKinley ( January 29, 1843 - September 14, 1901) was the 25th President of the United States, from 1897 until his assassination in 1901.

1 Biography

Born in Niles, Ohio on January 29, 1843, William McKinley was seventh of nine children. His parents, William and Nancy (Allison) McKinley were of Scottish ancestry. He attended the public schools, Poland Academy , and Allegheny College. Following graduation he taught school. On June 23, 1861, at the start of the American Civil War, enlisted in the Union Army, as a private in theTwenty-third Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered out as Captain and brevet Major of the same regiment in September 1865.

Following the war, McKinley attended Albany Law School in Albany, New York, being admitted to the bar in 1867. He commenced practice in Canton, Ohio. He was prosecuting attorney of Stark County, Ohio, 1869- 1871, and was elected as a Republican to the Forty-fifth, Forty-sixth, and Forty-seventh Congresses ( March 4, 1877- March 3, 1883). He was chairman of the Committee on Revision of the Laws (Forty-seventh Congress). He presented his credentials as a Member-elect to the Forty-eighth Congress and served from March 4, 1883, until May 27, 1884, when he was succeeded by Jonathan H. Wallace, who successfully contested his election. McKinley was again elected to the Forty-ninth, Fiftieth, and Fifty-first Congresses ( March 4, 1885- March 3, 1891). He was chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means (Fifty-first Congress). In 1890, he authored the unpopular McKinley Tariff.

McKinley was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1890 to the Fifty-second Congress. He was a delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1884, 1888, and 1892. Standing for election with his running mate Andrew L. Harris, McKinley was elected Governor of Ohio in 1891, and reelected in 1893, serving until January 13, 1896.