Biographical Overview & Key Facts

Subject:

Chester A. Arthur

Role / Field:

21st U.S. President; known for civil service reform and Navy expansion.

Born:

1829-10-05

Died:

1886-11-18

Century / Era:

1829s Historical Era

Database Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Origins & Early Life

Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was the 21st president of the United States, serving from 1881 to 1885. A Republican from New York, he served as the 20th vice president under President James A. Garfield in 1881, assuming the presidency after Garfield's assassination. Arthur's administration saw the largest expansion of the U.S.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Navy, the end of the so-called "spoils system", and the implementation of harsher restrictions for migrants entering from abroad. Arthur was born in Fairfield, Vermont, and practiced law in New York City. He served as quartermaster general of the New York Militia during the American Civil War. Following the war, he devoted more time to New York Republican politics and quickly rose in Senator Roscoe Conkling's political organization. President Ulysses S.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Grant appointed him as Collector of the Port of New York in 1871, and he was an important supporter of Conkling and the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party. In 1878, following bitter disputes between Conkling and President Rutherford B. Hayes over control of patronage in New York, Hayes fired Arthur as part of a plan to reform the federal patronage system. During the 1880 Republican...

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• August Kekulé — Contemporary (Born in 1829) (1829): Pioneering German organic chemist, famous for the theory of chemical structure and benzene.
• Carleton Watkins — Contemporary (Born in 1829) (1829): Pioneering American photographer renowned for his majestic landscape views of the American West.
• Charles Bourseul — Contemporary (Born in 1829) (1829): French inventor, pioneer of the 'make and break' telephone decades before Bell.
• Alfonso XIII — Contemporary (Born in 1886) (1886): King of Spain (1886-1931), whose reign spanned constitutional crises and republican upheaval.
• Apsley Cherry-Garrard — Contemporary (Born in 1886) (1886): English polar explorer renowned for his Antarctic accounts and survival narratives.
• Aron Nimzowitsch — Contemporary (Born in 1886) (1886): Pioneering chess theorist and Danish master, known for the hypermodern school.
• Al-Dhahabi — Shared historical date (10-05 · Born) (1274): Pioneering Syrian Sunni historian, biographer, and hadith scholar.
• Aleksey Khomyakov — Shared historical date (10-05 · Died) (1860): Founding theoretician of the Slavophile movement in Russian philosophy.
• Adam Weishaupt — Shared historical date (11-18 · Died) (1830): German philosopher, founder of the Bavarian Illuminati, and legal scholar.
• Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld — Shared historical date (11-18 · Born) (1832): Finland-Swedish baron, renowned geologist, and pioneering Arctic explorer.
• 1829 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1829
• October 5 (10-05) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on October 5
• 1886 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1886
• November 18 (11-18) On This Day — Historical events and memorials on November 18

Frequently Asked Questions about Chester A. Arthur