10 U.S. Presidents with the Shortest Terms

Death from illness, assassination, or simply succeeding a deceased president are the primary reasons why several U.S. presidents have not served a full four-year term as stipulated by the Constitution. World Atlas has released a list of the 10 U.S. presidents with the shortest terms in history. The report states that William Henry Harrison had the shortest term. The 9th U.S. president served only 31 days before dying from pneumonia. He was the first U.S. president to die in office.

Next, the U.S. president with the second shortest term was James A. Garfield. The 20th president served only 199 days. President Garfield was assassinated in July 1881 by a lawyer. Besides illness and assassination, another reason for short terms was succeeding a deceased president. Gerald R. Ford, the 38th U.S. president, is recorded as having the fifth shortest term. He was appointed to serve the remainder of President Richard Nixon's term, which ended with Nixon's resignation due to the Watergate scandal.

To date, the United States has been led by 44 presidents. In January 2017, the American public welcomed Donald Trump as the 45th U.S. president, having won the election against Hillary Clinton in November 2016.