His presidential inauguration speech in winter, 1841 took well over an hour to read, during which time he caught a chill that led to pneumonia and death a month later. Name this ninth President who had the shortest term of office.

William Henry Harrison holds the unfortunate distinction of serving the shortest term of any U.S. president. Sworn in as the ninth President on March 4, 1841, Harrison's presidency lasted only 31 days. His inauguration day was famously marked by a lengthy address delivered in less-than-ideal weather, a factor long believed to have contributed to his rapid decline and death just one month later.

On that cold and blustery March day, the 68-year-old Harrison gave the longest inaugural speech in history, an 8,445-word address that took nearly two hours to read. Despite the chilly conditions, with temperatures around 48°F, he chose to forgo an overcoat, hat, and gloves, seemingly to project an image of vigor. This prolonged exposure to the elements was traditionally cited as the cause of the cold he soon developed, which then progressed into pneumonia.

Harrison's death on April 4, 1841, was a shock to the nation and presented the first real test of presidential succession under the Constitution. While the narrative of his demise being directly linked to his inauguration speech and the subsequent pneumonia has persisted, some modern historians and medical experts suggest an alternative. They propose that unsanitary conditions in Washington D.C. at the time, rather than the weather on inauguration day, may have led to his death from enteric fever, also known as typhoid, given the symptoms described by his physician. Regardless of the exact medical cause, William Henry Harrison's brief time in office remains a poignant and impactful chapter in American history.