June 6, 2007

Andrew Jackson Rides the Iron Horse

On June 6, 1833, Andrew Jackson took a ride on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. This was the first time a United States President had ridden in a railway car. He rode from Ellicott's Mill, MD to Baltimore (about 12 miles), and was reported pretty excited about the event.

Jackson had a number of other "firsts" as President:

  1. He was the first President to survive a known assassination attempt. (Richard Lawrence accosted him at a funeral, and shot at him at point-blank range. The would-be assassin's guns misfired, and Jackson beat him with his cane until his aides could pull him away.)

  2. He was the first (and only) President to have served as a prisoner-of-war.

  3. He was the first (and only) President to have been born in a log cabin.

  4. During his administration, the United States was, for the first and last time, debt-free.

  5. His is the first known case of a President being handed a baby to kiss. (He declined the honor, and passed the baby to Secretary of War John H. Eaton.)

Photograph: 19th century locomotive. Public Domain

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