Zachary Gordon
American actor (born 1998)
Zachary Adam Gordon (born February 15, 1998) is an American actor. He is known for his lead role as Greg Heffley in the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" film series (2010–2012), which earned him nominations for a Kids' Choice Award and seven Young Artist Awards. His other lead film roles include "Huevos: Little Rooster's Egg-cellent Adventure" (2016) and "Dreamcatcher" (2021). He has had notable supporting roles in films such as "Georgia Rule" (2007), ' (2008), "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone" (2013), ' (2020), and "Violet" (2021).
In television, Gordon had a lead voice role as Gil on the Nickelodeon series "Bubble Guppies" (2011–2013). His live-action recurring roles include Jason Cohen on the Freeform series "Dead of Summer" (2016), and Tate Wilson on the Freeform drama series "Good Trouble" (2019–2020).
Early life.
Gordon was born in Oak Park, California, to Linda and Kenneth Gordon. He has two older brothers and was raised in Southern California. Gordon graduated from Oak Park High School in his hometown.
Career.
Gordon has made multiple television appearances on programs such as "How I Met Your Mother" and "All of Us". He also appeared in the 2008 pilot of "Desperate Housewives", plus two other episodes, and in two episodes of "24" that aired in January 2009. Gordon appeared in three episodes as a guest star on "Last Man Standing", where he played Mike Baxter's daughter's boyfriend.
Gordon's film credits include "Sex and Death 101", "Lower Learning", the Garry Marshall film "Georgia Rule" (for which he won the Young Artist Award for his portrayal of Ethan), "The Brothers Bloom", as young Bloom, and in "".
Gordon has been credited with numerous voice over roles including Brad Spolyt in "The Chubbchubbs Save Xmas", Ricky Garcia in "Project Gilroy", San San in Nick Jr.'s "Ni Hao, Kai-Lan" and "The Mighty B!" He was a series regular as the original voice of Gil in the Nickelodeon series "Bubble Guppies".
Gordon had voice cameo roles as Baby Melman in the animated film "", Kotaro in "Afro Samurai: Resurrection", and young Tony Stark in "The Super Hero Squad Show". In 2010, he played Greg Heffley in the film "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". In 2011, he voiced Papi Jr. in "Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2" and as Paws in Disney's "The Search for Santa Paws".
In June 2010, 20th Century Fox announced a sequel to "Diary of a Wimpy Kid"; Gordon returned as Greg Heffley and the film, "", was released on March 25, 2011.
In 2011, Gordon provided voices for Charlie Brown, Linus, and Franklin on the comedy show "Robot Chicken", and in 2012, he reprised the role of Greg Heffley in '. In the fourth film, ', he was replaced by Jason Drucker. In October 2013, Gordon was chosen to host a miniseries for Nintendo, titled "Skylander's Boomcast", on YouTube channel SkylandersGame, reviewing and talking about the video game series "Skylanders". In April 2023, it was announced Gordon would be the new voice of Tighnari in "Genshin Impact", replacing Elliot Gindi.
Additional films for 2013 included "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone" and a role as Pete Kidder in Walden Media's and Hallmark Channel's "Pete's Christmas".
Personal life.
He is Jewish.
In May 2023, Gordon stated on social media that he had lost his voice due to torn muscles in his throat, causing his acting career to be put on hold.
References.
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Diary of a Wimpy Kid (book)
2007 novel by Jeff Kinney
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a children's illustrated novel written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney. It is the first book in the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series. The book is about a boy named Greg Heffley and his attempts to become popular in his first year of middle school.
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" first appeared on FunBrain in 2004, where it was read 20 million times. The abridged hardcover adaptation was released on April 1, 2007. The book was named a "New York Times" bestseller, among other awards and received generally positive reviews. The book was adapted into a live action feature film, which released on March 19, 2010, and an animated film adaptation was released on Disney+ on December 3, 2021.
Plot.
The protagonist Greg Heffley, a student at Larry Mack Junior Middle School, writes a diary to detail his time "stuck in middle school with a bunch of morons" to a future audience reading when he is "rich and famous". Greg details the local myth surrounding a moldy piece of cheese that has been left at his school's basketball court for a long time. If someone touches the cheese, they have the curse-like "Cheese Touch" which makes them repellent to others; the victim is stuck with it until they pass it on by touching someone else. The last victim of the Cheese Touch has moved away to California, and Greg hopes nobody starts it up again.
Greg also talks about his best friend, Rowley Jefferson, characterizing him as immature or somewhat stupid, and that his [Greg's] ideas go "in one ear and out the other" with Rowley. At home, Greg is bullied by his older brother Rodrick, and resents his little brother, a toddler named Manny, who is spoiled and gets away with everything that Greg does not. Greg's father does not encourage his son's way of life—playing video games all day—and would rather Greg go outside and play sports.
Near Halloween, Greg writes that his father likes to hide in the bushes on Halloween night and drench teenagers that walk by their driveway with a trash can full of water. Greg and Rowley decide to make a haunted house after seeing the popularity of Crossland High School's haunted house, but they only end up profiting two dollars. On Halloween night, Greg and Rowley go trick-or-treating, but are challenged by a group of teenagers who spray them with a water-filled fire extinguisher. When they get home, they are soaked with a trash can full of water by Greg's father, who mistakes them for teenagers.
In Geography, Greg fails a test on state capitals after a girl named Patty Farrell reminds the teacher that he needs to cover the map of the United States that shows the state capitals. At home, Greg's mother forces him into auditioning for the school play (based on "The Wizard of Oz"). Greg lands the role of a tree, while Patty Farrell is cast as Dorothy, the protagonist of the novel. During the show's performance, Greg becomes too nervous to sing, confusing the other trees. Patty gets frustrated, and Greg starts throwing apples at her. The other trees join in, and the play eventually has to be shut down after Patty's glasses are broken. Greg's mother is disappointed, but Greg enjoyed getting back at Patty.
After getting bad presents for Christmas, Greg decides to play a game with Rowley in which Rowley must ride a Big Wheel down a hill while Greg tries to knock him off with a football. On one of Greg's tries, the ball goes under the front wheel, which causes Rowley to fall off and break his hand. When Rowley goes to school with a plaster cast, the girls take care of him (carrying his books, feeding him food), which makes Greg jealous.
Greg decides to join the Safety Patrols at his school, hoping that he will be able to control the other kids. He gets Rowley to sign up as well and enjoys the benefits of being a Safety Patrol, such as getting free hot chocolate. He tries to get a spot in the school's newspaper as a cartoonist and teams up with Rowley. Greg comes up with a strip called "Zoo-Wee Mama!", and he and Rowley produce a number of strips. Eventually, Greg starts wanting to do other strips, but Rowley wants to continue with "Zoo-Wee Mama!"; Greg submits his comics to the teacher and ends up getting the cartoonist job. However, the teacher completely changes Greg's comic, even making his character a "curious student" instead of a "cretin."
After an incident where Greg chases some kindergartners with a worm on a stick and is mistaken for Rowley, Rowley gets suspended from the Safety Patrols for a week. However, after it is cleared up that Greg was the real culprit, Rowley is reinstated and promoted while Greg is dismissed.
Greg notices that the school year is coming to a close and tries to get on the yearbook's Class Favorites page. He plans to go for "Class Clown," but his plans do not work out. At lunch, he gets an issue of the school newspaper and learns that Rowley is the new cartoonist, with his "Zoo-Wee Mama!" strip left completely unchanged.
Greg confronts Rowley for not even listing him as co-creator and hogging all the fame. Rowley retaliates by saying that the "Zoo-Wee Mama!" comic was his idea and that Greg "had nothing to do with it." As they argue, the teenagers who chased them at Halloween appear and force Greg and Rowley to eat the Cheese. Greg gets out of it by falsely claiming to be allergic to dairy, while Rowley is forced to eat the whole thing. The next day, when everyone notices that the Cheese is gone, Greg takes the fall for Rowley and lies by saying that he threw it away. Greg reconciles with Rowley and lets people think that he has the Cheese Touch.
The book concludes with Greg getting his yearbook, seeing Rowley on the "Class Clown" page, and throwing it in the garbage. This means Greg now has the Cheese Touch, which carries on into the next book.
Background.
In May 2004, FunBrain and Jeff Kinney released an online version of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". The website made daily entries from September of that year to June 2005. The online book became an instant hit, and had received approximately 20 million views by 2007. Many online readers requested a printed version. At the 2006 New York Comic Con Kinney proposed "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" to Charles Kochman, Editorial Director of the ComicArts division of Abrams Books, who purchased the rights to the book. According to Kochman, the two initially conceived it as a book for adults, believing it would appeal to audiences similar to that of the TV series "The Wonder Years". Kochman brought it before the Abrams publishing board, which convinced Kinney and Kochman that it would be better aimed toward children. In 2007, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid", an abridged version of the original online book, was published.
Main characters.
The main character, Greg, has trouble with family, friends, and his local middle school. He is very concerned about how popular he is at school, and he daydreams a lot about being rich and famous when he grows up. He tries to fit in at his school, but usually he does not succeed. Facing many challenges, Greg attempts to handle them very creatively, but unfortunately his antics often backfire on him.
Greg's best friend has a larger than average frame. He is always willing to do what Greg tells him, including dangerous stunts. Rowley goes on vacations all the time, which annoys Greg. Rowley is a loyal friend, but he sometimes behaves in an immature or childish manner. He also dresses in an unusual way.
Greg's "spoiled" little brother, a three-year-old toddler. He never gets in trouble no matter what, even when he really deserves it. Manny is not yet potty trained.
Rodrick is Greg's teenage brother and he never misses a chance to be cruel to Greg. He is known for sleeping excessively in the morning and for his rebellious attitude. Rodrick is part of a basement band (garage band in the movies) called "Löded Diper". Rodrick will do anything to embarrass Greg and will even cause problems for Manny to make everyone's life miserable.
Sequels.
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" is the first book in an ongoing franchise. A total of nineteen "Wimpy Kid" books have been released, the sequels to the first book are: ' (2008) which was listed on the "New York Times" Best Sellers list for 117 weeks, ' (2009) which was on the "New York Times" Best Sellers list for 65 weeks, peaking at number one, ' (2009) which was ranked at number one on the "New York Times" Best Sellers List for all 25 weeks of inclusion, making it the #1 best selling book of 2009, ' (2010), ' (2011), ' (2012), ' (2013), ' (2014), ' (2015), ' (2016), ' (2017), ' (2018)," " (2019), ' (2020), ' (2021), ' (2022), ' (2023), and (2024).
Reception.
The book won the Blue Peter Book Award 2012, revealed live on British kids channel CBBC on March 1, 2012. In 2012 it was ranked number 76 on a list of the top 100 children's novels published by "School Library Journal".
Adaptations.
A film adaptation, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," was released by 20th Century Fox on March 19, 2010. The film stars Zachary Gordon as Greg Heffley, Robert Capron as Rowley Jefferson, Steve Zahn as Frank Heffley (Dad), Rachael Harris as Susan Heffley (Mom), Devon Bostick as Rodrick Heffley, Chloë Grace Moretz as Angie Steadman (a character exclusive to the live-action film), and Connor & Owen Fielding as Manny Heffley, Greg's brother. It would later go on to spawn three sequels.
Another film adaptation, this time animated, serving as a reboot of the film series was released on December 3, 2021 exclusively on Disney+.
References.
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Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010 film)
2010 film by Thor Freudenthal
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a 2010 American comedy film directed by Thor Freudenthal and based on Jeff Kinney's 2007 book of the same name. The film stars Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron, Devon Bostick, Rachael Harris, Steve Zahn, and Chloë Grace Moretz.
20th Century Fox released the film theatrically in the United States on March 19, 2010, receiving mixed reviews from critics and grossing $76 million worldwide against a $15 million budget.
The film spawned a film franchise and was followed by three sequels: ' (2011), ' (2012), and ' (2017). An animated reboot of the same name was released in 2021, which was followed by two sequels of its own: a (2022) and ' (2023). A book detailing the film's creation process, titled "The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary", was released on March 16, 2010.
Plot.
Preteen Greg Heffley illustrates his daily life in a diary. He says he is writing in one for when he is "rich and famous", but is in middle school for now. Greg lives with his parents, Susan and Frank, his spoiled younger brother, Manny, and his older brother, Rodrick, who torments Greg. On Greg's first day of middle school, he quickly discovers the ups and downs, such as the missing stall doors in the boys' bathroom and the difficulties of obtaining a seat during lunch. During physical education, Greg and his childish best friend, Rowley Jefferson, escape from a game of Gladiator and meet Angie Steadman, a seventh-grader who isolates herself from the other students to "survive". They also notice a moldy piece of cheese on the basketball court. When Greg almost touches it, their friend, Chirag Gupta, tells them that whoever touches it gets "The Cheese Touch", where they become a social outcast due to everyone being disgusted by that person because they touched the cheese, and that the only way to get rid of "The Cheese Touch" is to pass it on to someone else by touching them. Greg states his intention of becoming the most popular student in school, as well as earning a place in the school yearbook as a class favorite, only for several of his attempts to fail.
On Halloween, when Greg and Rowley go out trick-or-treating, a group of teenage boys drive by in a pickup truck, and spray a fire extinguisher at them. When Greg threatens to call the police, the boys chase him and Rowley to Greg's grandmother's house, but the latter two escape them after Greg accidentally damages their truck with a weed eater.
The boys join the Safety Patrol team at school in another effort to become popular and try out for a contest that offers a student a chance to become the cartoonist for the school paper. When Greg accidentally breaks Rowley's arm, during a dangerous game the duo invented, Rowley becomes extremely popular and wins the cartoonist contest, making Greg envious of him. During a Safety Patrol assignment, Greg walks kindergartners down a neighborhood street without Rowley, but panics when he encounters a truck identical to the teenagers' from Halloween and hides himself and the kids in a construction zone. He is then confronted by a neighbor who mistakes him for Rowley, having borrowed Rowley's coat, forcing him to abandon the kindergarteners and flee. To his bewilderment, Rowley is suspended from Safety Patrol, but Greg eventually confesses his guilt to him, foolishly offering it as a joke and saying that they could both learn "lessons" from the incident. Distraught and angered over Greg's mistreatment of him, Rowley ends their friendship. When the truth soon comes to light, Greg is fired from the service while Rowley is reinstated as captain and befriends their classmate, Collin, who replaces Greg as Rowley's best friend. Greg attempts to pursue popularity without Rowley, but those efforts also fail. Greg tries to reconcile with Rowley while attending the Mother and Son Sweetheart Dance at his school with Susan, but lies to Rowley about missing him when he notices he is with Collin.
One day after school, Greg and Rowley confront each other in rage and a circle of students encourages them to fight. However, neither of them are good at fighting. The teenagers from Halloween arrive at the scene and force Rowley to eat part of the cheese after the other kids, except for Greg, are chased inside the school. They flee the scene when the school's physical education teacher, Coach Eduardo Malone, arrives, but when the other kids come back out and notice the cheese has been eaten, Greg takes the blame to save Rowley's reputation, and they reconcile. At the end of the school year, Greg and Rowley make the yearbook class favorites page as "Cutest Friends".
Production.
An adaptation of the first "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" novel was announced in 2008, with Thor Freudenthal signing on as director in December 2008. In July 2009, Zachary Gordon was cast in the lead role of Greg Heffley. Rachael Harris also signed on for the role of Susan Heffley, Greg's mother. In August 2009, Steve Zahn was cast as Frank Heffley, Greg's father. In the same month, Devon Bostick and Robert Capron were cast as Rodrick Heffley and Rowley Jefferson, respectively. Filming began on August 12, 2009.
Visual effects.
The mold for the Cheese was completely digital. Filmmakers left a real square of cheese outside for a few days inside a wire cage to keep animals out and sunlight in, and after this, a piece of cheese was made out of silicone and had mold effects added using CGI.
The animated sequences were not 2D animated, but in fact made with 3D animation. The animated sequences were first animated in 3D, and then rendered in a rough sketch shader to make them look 2D.
Release.
Tie-in book.
A tie-in book, written by Kinney, called "The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary", was published on March 16, 2010, by Amulet Books (an imprint of Abrams Books). It includes film stills, storyboards, preliminary concept drawings and also behind-the-scenes information to humorously chronicle the making of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid", ', and '. It also includes some new illustrations.
Home media.
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 3, 2010. The Blu-ray version features six pages from Rowley's diary, "Diary of an Awesome, Friendly Kid". It was released on the streaming service Disney+ on November 12, 2019; its launch date.
Reception.
Critical response.
Review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 55% based on 106 reviews and an average rating of 5.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Unlike its bestselling source material, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" fails to place a likable protagonist at the center of its middle-school humor – and its underlying message is drowned out as a result." It also holds a rating of 56 out of 100 at Metacritic, based on 26 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audience surveyed by CinemaScore gave this film an "A-."
Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, writing "It's nimble, bright and funny. It doesn't dumb down. It doesn't patronize. It knows something about human nature." Glenn Whipp of the "Associated Press" was less positive, saying, "In transferring the clean, precise humor of Kinney's illustrations and prose to the big-screen, the material loses just a bit of its charm." "At the Movies" host David Stratton gave the film one star while co-host Margaret Pomeranz gave it half a star. Stratton called the film "tiresome" and said there was "nothing remotely interesting in Thor Freudenthal's direction or the screenplay." Pomeranz disliked the character of Greg Heffley, saying "I really thought he was unpleasant. I did not want to spend time with him. I could not wait for the end of this film."
OregonLive.com gave the film a C+ grade, criticizing it for being "too often dull, unappealing and clumsy, hobbled by unnecessary changes and inventions that add no charm, energy or, truly, point."
Box office.
Despite a lack of distinctive marketing, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" drew a decent crowd, opening to $22.1 million on approximately 3,400 screens at 3,077 sites, in second place at the weekend box office behind "Alice in Wonderland" but beating out the heavily hyped "The Bounty Hunter". It was the biggest start ever for a non-animated, non-fantasy children's book adaptation. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" grossed more in its first three days than other film adaptions to children's novels like "How to Eat Fried Worms" and "Hoot" grossed in their entire runs. The film grossed $64,003,625 in North America and $11,696,873 in other territories for a worldwide total of $75,700,498.
Expanded franchise.
Sequels.
Three sequels were released in 2011, 2012 and 2017 respectively. ' was released on March 25, 2011. It was based on the second book in the series, '. Zachary Gordon reprised his role in the film. ' was released on August 3, 2012, and is based on ' and ', including scenes from both books. An animated short film, ', was released along with the DVD of "Dog Days". A film based on "" was released in May 2017 and features a new cast starring Jason Drucker, Alicia Silverstone, and Tom Everett Scott, but received generally negative reviews.
Animated reboot and sequels.
An animated reboot directed by Swinton Scott was released on Disney+ on December 3, 2021. Unlike the other films, this was the first "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" film to be animated fully in computer-generated imagery and features Greg and the characters in colors. Originally set as an adaptation of "" by Kinney, it was re-announced in 2018 as an animated series but switched to a CGI movie in 2019. It stars Brady Noon, Ethan William Childress, and Chris Diamantopoulos.
References.
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Diary of a Wimpy Kid (film series)
Family comedy film series
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a series of family comedy films based on the book series of the same name by Jeff Kinney. It consists of four live action films and three animated films.
Films.
Live-action films.
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" (2010).
Principal production began on August 12, 2009, and was completed on October 16, 2009. The film was directed by Thor Freudenthal and starred Zachary Gordon as Greg Heffley, Robert Capron as Rowley Jefferson, Rachael Harris as Susan Heffley, Steve Zahn as Frank Heffley, Devon Bostick as Rodrick Heffley, Connor and Owen Fielding as Manny Heffley, Chloë Grace Moretz as Angie Steadman, Grayson Russell as Fregley, Laine MacNeil as Patty Farrell, and Karan Brar as Chirag Gupta. It was the only film in the series to be directed by Freudenthal. The musical score was composed by Theodore Shapiro. It received mixed reviews from critics. It was released on March 19, 2010, as it moved up from a previously scheduled April 2 release date.
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules" (2011).
Based on the second book, "Rodrick Rules", with elements from "The Last Straw". Principal photography began on August 23, 2010, and was completed on October 27, 2010, with filming taking place in Vancouver and New Westminster. The film was directed by David Bowers, with Zachary Gordon reprising his role as Greg Heffley. New main characters include Holly Hills (Peyton List), Grandpa (Terence Kelly), and Bill Walter (Fran Kranz). Edward Shearmur composes the original score for the film. It also received mixed reviews from critics. It was released on March 25, 2011.
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days" (2012).
Based on the third book "The Last Straw" and the fourth book "Dog Days", the film was directed by David Bowers and features the same familiar cast of characters, introducing a few new ones, and also focusing on lesser characters not elaborated on in previous films, including Frank Heffley (Steve Zahn), Mr. Jefferson (Alf Humphreys) and Holly Hills (Peyton List). The film is the last one to feature the original cast, as they had outgrown their roles after filming wrapped. It also received mixed reviews from critics. It was released on August 3, 2012.
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul" (2017).
Featuring an entirely new cast, the plot follows Greg and his brother, Rodrick, unwillingly being taken on a family road trip to their great-grandmother's house for her 90th birthday party. Greg sees this as an opportunity to meet his Internet idol, Mac Digby, and get people to forget about him being dubbed as a meme known as "Diaper Hands". The film was panned by critics and audiences, with most of the criticism aimed at the casting change. It was released on May 19, 2017.
Animated reboot films.
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" (2021).
In August 2018, 20th Century Fox CEO Stacey Snider announced that a fully animated television series based on "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" was in development. On August 6, 2019, after the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, the project was confirmed to be still in development for their streaming service, Disney+.
In December 2020, the project was confirmed to have been redeveloped as an animated film. On September 2, 2021, Disney officially confirmed that the new movie would be simply titled "Diary of a Wimpy Kid", and would be released on December 3, 2021. The movie is a re-adaptation of the first book and the characters appear similar in design to their appearances in the book series. The first trailer was officially released in October 2021. Unlike the previous films, which were produced by 20th Century Fox, this film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures, although it was originally in production at 20th Century Animation.
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules" (2022).
On October 23, 2021, ahead of the first film's release, Jeff Kinney revealed that sequels are already in development. For Disney+ Day, Kinney revealed that the sequel, based on "", was released on December 2, 2022. Unlike the first animated film, a copyright notice at the end of the trailer indicates that 20th Century Studios has involvement in the film.
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever" (2023).
On September 8, 2023, it was announced that a Disney+ film based on the sixth book, "Cabin Fever", released on December 8, 2023.
Future.
Jeff Kinney stated that he intends to adapt all books into animated features for Disney+. An animated film based on "The Last Straw" is currently in development.
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Class Clown" short film.
An animated short film set after the events of the third film, titled "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Class Clown", was included on the home media release of "Dog Days" in 2012. The short is told through Greg's point-of-view as he explains his humorous experience and why he deserves the title of Class Clown. Zachary Gordon reprises his role as Greg Heffley along with other cast members voicing their characters from the films in minor roles.
Canceled TV special.
In 2012, Jeff Kinney, the author of the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books, announced the possibility for an animated film to be based on ' as the next installment. In an interview for ', Kinney stated he was working with FOX on a half-hour special based on "Cabin Fever", which was scheduled to air in late-2014. The special was meant to be an animated production developed at 20th Century Fox Animation, and had begun development while Kinney worked on the live-action films. Nothing regarding the special ever materialized. A separate adaptation was eventually released in 2023 as "".
Recurring cast and characters.
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List indicators
This section includes .* An empty grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.*  E indicates an appearance not included in the theatrical cut.*  O indicates an older version of the character.*  U indicates an uncredited appearance.*  V indicates a voice-only role.*  Y indicates a younger version of the character.
References.
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List of Diary of a Wimpy Kid characters
Characters in Diary of a Wimpy Kid
The "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" franchise contains a large cast of characters. It centers on protagonist Greg Heffley, his best friend Rowley Jefferson, and Greg's family: his mother Susan, father Frank, and brothers Rodrick and Manny.
Main characters.
Greg Heffley.
Gregory "Greg" Heffley serves as the central character of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He is depicted as the middle son of Frank and Susan Heffley, navigating the trials of middle school with an intense desire for popularity. This ambition often leads him to go to great lengths, including displaying antagonistic behavior or manipulating his best friend, Rowley. Despite these tendencies, Greg occasionally shows moments of kindness, suggesting a more complex personality beneath his relentless quest for social status.
In "", for instance, Greg persuades Rowley to do his homework, only to annoy him and impede Rowley's concentration, underscoring Greg's tendency to exploit his friend.
In the film adaptations, Greg is portrayed by Zachary Gordon in the first three films, Jason Drucker in ', and Brady Noon in the animated films until ', where Wesley Kimmel provides his voice.
Rowley Jefferson.
Rowley Jefferson is characterized to be Greg's best friend. Rowley is characterized as friendly, good-natured, and somewhat naive, remaining loyal to Greg despite frequently getting caught up in Greg’s schemes. In "", Rowley begins dating Abigail Brown, initially Greg’s intended date for the Valentine's Day dance." This relationship continues into ", where Rowley drifts away from Greg to spend more time with Abigail. However, by the end of the book, Rowley and Abigail break up, allowing Rowley and Greg to rekindle their friendship.
Rowley’s interests are often portrayed as "immature" by Greg, such as his enthusiasm for the pop singer Joshie, who is marketed toward young children, and his enjoyment of action figures Greg considers childish. Greg’s jealousy also becomes apparent when Rowley receives a diary for his birthday and suggests they could be “Diary Twins,” prompting Greg to dismissively respond with a light punch, showing his annoyance. Rowley is the original creator of the comic strip "Zoo Wee Mama!" Although Greg claims to have contributed, Rowley maintains in the first book that Greg had little involvement in and made fun of the comic, a rare instance where Rowley asserts himself.
In "", Rowley is the protagonist, with Greg taking on a more antagonistic role, showcasing Rowley’s perspective on their friendship.
In the film series, Rowley is portrayed by Robert Capron in the first three films, Owen Asztalos in "The Long Haul", and Ethan William Childress in the animated films until "", where he was voiced by Spencer Howell instead.
Frank Heffley.
Franklin "Frank" Heffley is depicted to be Greg's overreactive but well-meaning father. He is interested in U.S. history, with his replica of a Civil War battlefield serving as a recurring plot point in the series. In the books, Frank despises Rowley, and does not appreciate Greg's skill at video games. He is also shown to loathe heavy metal and adolescents. Frank tries to toughen Greg up and threatens to send him to a military academy in ', although ultimately this does not come to fruition, much to Greg's relief. However, Greg and Frank grow together in ', despite a brief period when Frank does not speak to Greg after almost getting arrested and going to jail. He was Greg’s Aunt Cakey’s boyfriend for a short time, but then he revealed to like her sister Susan more, whom he went on to marry.


List of United States presidential assassination attempts and plots
Assassination attempts and plots on the president of the United States have been numerous, ranging from the early 19th century to the present day. This article lists assassinations and assassination attempts on incumbent and former presidents and presidents-elect, but not on those who had not yet been elected president.
Four sitting presidents have been killed: Abraham Lincoln (1865, by John Wilkes Booth), James A. Garfield (1881, by Charles J. Guiteau), William McKinley (1901, by Leon Czolgosz), and John F. Kennedy (1963, by Lee Harvey Oswald). Ronald Reagan (1981, by John Hinckley Jr.) is the only sitting U.S. president to have been injured in an assassination attempt. Theodore Roosevelt (1912, by John Schrank) and Donald Trump (2024, by Thomas Matthew Crooks) are the only two former presidents to be injured in an assassination attempt, both while campaigning for reelection. Roosevelt would go on to lose his reelection bid, while Trump won his.
In all of these cases, the attacker's weapon was a firearm, and all the subjects were male. Gerald Ford experienced two attempted assassinations with a woman as the assailant.
Many assassination attempts, both successful and unsuccessful, were motivated by a desire to change the policy of the American government. Not all such attacks, however, had political reasons. Many other attackers had questionable mental stability, and a few were judged legally insane. Historian James W. Clarke suggests that most assassination attempters have been sane and politically motivated, whereas the Department of Justice's legal manual claims that a large majority have been insane. Some assassins, especially mentally ill ones, acted solely on their own, whereas those pursuing political agendas have more often found supporting conspirators. Most assassination plotters were arrested and punished by execution or lengthy detention in a prison or insane asylum.
The fact that the successor of a removed president is the vice president, and all vice presidents since Andrew Johnson have shared the president's political party affiliation, may discourage such attacks, at least for policy reasons, even in times of partisan strife. The third person in line, the Speaker of the House, as outlined in the Presidential Succession Act, is often of the opposing party, however.
Threats of violence against the president are often made for rhetorical or humorous effect without serious intent, while "credibly" threatening the president of the United States has been a federal felony since 1917.
Presidents assassinated.
Abraham Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was the first U.S. president to be assassinated (though not the first to die in office). The assassination took place on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., at about 10:15 PM. The assassin, John Wilkes Booth, was a well-known actor and a Confederate sympathizer from Maryland; though he never joined the Confederate Army, he had contacts within the Confederate Secret Service. In 1864, Booth formulated a plan (very similar to one of Thomas N. Conrad previously authorized by the Confederacy) to kidnap Lincoln in exchange for the release of Confederate prisoners. After attending an April 11, 1865 speech in which Lincoln promoted voting rights for Black people, Booth decided to assassinate the president instead. Learning that the president would be attending Ford's Theatre, Booth planned with co-conspirators to assassinate Lincoln at the theater. The conspiracy also included assassinating Vice President Andrew Johnson in Kirkwood House, where Johnson lived while Vice President, and Secretary of State William H. Seward at Seward's house. On April 14, 1865, Lincoln attended the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theatre. As the president sat in his state box in the balcony watching the play with his wife Mary and two guests, Major Henry Rathbone and Rathbone's fiancée Clara Harris, Booth entered from behind. He aimed a .44-caliber Derringer pistol at the back of Lincoln's head and fired, mortally wounding him. Rathbone momentarily grappled with Booth, but Booth stabbed him and escaped. An unconscious Lincoln was examined by doctors and taken across the street to the Petersen House. After remaining in a coma for nine hours, Lincoln died at 7:22 AM on April 15.
As he died, his breathing grew quieter, his face more calm. According to some accounts, at his last drawn breath, on the morning after the assassination, he smiled broadly and then expired. Historians, particularly author Lee Davis, have emphasized Lincoln's peaceful appearance when and after he died: "It was the first time in four years, probably, that a peaceful expression crossed his face." Field wrote in a letter to "The New York Times": "there was 'no apparent suffering, no convulsive action, no rattling of the throat...[only] a mere cessation of breathing'... I had never seen upon the President's face an expression more genial and pleasing." The president's secretary, John Hay, saw "a look of unspeakable peace came upon his worn features".
Beyond Lincoln's death, the plot failed: Seward was only wounded, and Johnson's would-be attacker did not follow through. After being on the run for 12 days, Booth was tracked down and found on April 26, 1865, by Union Army soldiers at a farm in Virginia, some south of Washington. After refusing to surrender, Booth was fatally shot by Union cavalryman Boston Corbett. Four other conspirators were later hanged for their roles in the conspiracy.
President Lincoln was succeeded by Vice President Andrew Johnson on April 15, 1865.
James A. Garfield.
The assassination of James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, took place at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C., at 9:20 AM on Saturday, July 2, 1881, less than four months after he took office. As the president was arriving at the train station, writer and lawyer Charles J. Guiteau shot him twice with a .442 Webley British Bull Dog revolver; one bullet grazed the president's shoulder, and the other pierced his back. For the next eleven weeks, Garfield endured the pain and suffering from having been shot, before dying on September 19, 1881, at 10:35 PM, of complications caused by iatrogenic infections, which were contracted by the doctors' relentless probing of his wound with unsterilized fingers and instruments. He had survived for a total of 79 days after being shot.
Guiteau was immediately arrested. After a highly publicized trial lasting from November 14, 1881, to January 25, 1882, he was found guilty and sentenced to death. A subsequent appeal was rejected, and he was executed by hanging on June 30, 1882, in the District of Columbia, two days before the first anniversary of the shooting. Guiteau was assessed during his trial and autopsy as mentally unbalanced or suffering from the effects of neurosyphilis. He claimed to have shot Garfield out of disappointment at being passed over for appointment as Ambassador to France. He attributed the president's victory in the election to a speech he wrote in support of Garfield.
President Garfield was succeeded by Vice President Chester A. Arthur on September 19, 1881.
William McKinley.
The assassination of United States president William McKinley took place at 4:07 PM on Friday, September 6, 1901, at the Temple of Music in Buffalo, New York. McKinley, attending the Pan-American Exposition, was shot twice in the abdomen at close range by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist, who was armed with a .32-caliber Iver Johnson "Safety Automatic" revolver that was concealed underneath a handkerchief. The first bullet ricocheted off either a button or an award medal on McKinley's jacket and lodged in his sleeve; the second shot pierced his stomach. Although McKinley initially appeared to be recovering, his condition rapidly declined due to gangrene setting in around his wounds and he died on September 14, 1901, at 2:15 AM.
Members of the crowd, started by James Benjamin Parker, subdued and captured Czolgosz. Afterward, the 4th Brigade, National Guard Signal Corps, and police intervened, beating Czolgosz so severely it was initially thought he might not live to stand trial. On September 24, after a two-day trial, in which the defendant refused to defend himself, Czolgosz was convicted and later sentenced to death. He was executed by the electric chair in Auburn Prison on October 29, 1901. Czolgosz's actions were politically motivated, although it remains unclear what outcome, if any, he believed the shooting would yield.
Following President McKinley's assassination, Congress directed the Secret Service to protect the president of the United States as part of its mandate.
President William McKinley was succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt on September 14, 1901.
John F. Kennedy.
The assassination of United States president John F. Kennedy took place at 12:30 PM on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, during a presidential motorcade in Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was riding with his wife Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally, and Connally's wife Nellie when he was fatally shot by former U.S. Marine and American defector Lee Harvey Oswald (using a 6.5×52mm Carcano Model 38 rifle) from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. He was shot once in the back, the bullet exiting via his throat, and once in the head. Governor Connally was seriously wounded, and bystander James Tague received a minor facial injury from a small piece of curbstone that had fragmented after it was struck by one of the bullets. The motorcade rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where President Kennedy was declared dead at 1:00 PM. Oswald was arrested and charged by the Dallas Police Department for the assassination of Kennedy and for the murder of Dallas policeman J. D. Tippit, who was shot dead in a residential neighborhood in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas just hours later. On Sunday, November 24, while being transferred from the city jail to the county jail, Oswald was fatally shot in the basement of Dallas Police Department Headquarters by Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby. Ruby was convicted of Oswald's murder, albeit his conviction was later overturned on appeal. In 1967, Ruby died in prison while awaiting a new trial.
In September 1964, the Warren Commission concluded that Kennedy and Tippit were both killed by Oswald, that Oswald had acted entirely alone in both murders, and that Ruby had acted alone in killing Oswald. Nonetheless, polls conducted from 1966 to 2004 found that up to 80% of Americans surveyed suspected that there was a plot or cover-up to kill President Kennedy. Conspiracy theories have persisted to the present day.
President John F. Kennedy was succeeded by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson on November 22, 1963.
Incumbent presidents wounded.
Ronald Reagan.
On March 30, 1981, as Ronald Reagan was returning to his limousine after speaking at the Washington Hilton hotel, would-be assassin John Hinckley Jr., fired six gunshots using a .22 caliber Röhm RG-14 revolver toward him, striking Reagan and three others. Reagan was seriously wounded by a bullet that ricocheted off the side of the presidential limousine and hit him in the left underarm, breaking a rib, puncturing a lung, and causing serious internal bleeding. Although "close to death" upon arrival at George Washington University Hospital, Reagan was stabilized in the emergency room, and then underwent emergency exploratory surgery. He recovered and was released from the hospital on April 11. Besides Reagan, White House press secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, and police officer Thomas Delahanty were also wounded. All three survived, but Brady suffered brain damage and was permanently disabled; Brady's death in 2014 was considered a homicide because it was ultimately caused by this injury.
Hinckley was immediately arrested, and later said he had wanted to kill Reagan to impress actress Jodie Foster. He was deemed mentally ill and confined to an institution. Hinckley was released from institutional psychiatric care on September 10, 2016, 35 years after the incident and 12 years after Reagan's death from pneumonia complicated by Alzheimer's disease.
Former presidents wounded.
Theodore Roosevelt.
Three-and-a-half years after he left office, Theodore Roosevelt ran in the 1912 presidential election as a member of the Bull Moose Party. While campaigning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on October 14, 1912, John Schrank, a saloon-keeper from New York who had been stalking him for weeks, shot Roosevelt once in the chest with a .38-caliber Colt Police Positive Special. The 50-page text of his campaign speech titled "", folded over twice in Roosevelt's breast pocket, and a metal glasses case slowed the bullet, saving his life. Schrank was immediately disarmed, captured, and might have been lynched had Roosevelt not shouted for Schrank to remain unharmed. Roosevelt assured the crowd he was all right, then ordered police to take charge of Schrank and to make sure no violence was done to him.
Roosevelt, as an experienced hunter and anatomist, correctly concluded that since he was not coughing blood, the bullet had not reached his lung, and he declined suggestions to go to the hospital immediately. Instead, he delivered his scheduled speech with blood seeping into his shirt. He spoke for 84 minutes before completing his speech and accepting medical attention. His opening comments to the gathered crowd were, "Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot, but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose." Afterwards, probes and an x-ray showed that the bullet had lodged in Roosevelt's chest muscle, but did not penetrate the pulmonary pleurae. Doctors concluded that it would be less dangerous to leave it in place than to attempt to remove it, and the bullet remained in Roosevelt's body for the remainder of his life. He spent two weeks recuperating before returning to the campaign trail. Despite his tenacity, Roosevelt ultimately lost his bid for reelection to the Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson.
At Schrank's trial, the would-be assassin claimed that William McKinley had visited him in a dream and told him to avenge his assassination by killing Roosevelt. He was found legally insane and was institutionalized until his death in 1943.
Donald Trump.
On July 13, 2024, Donald Trump, while he was a former president of the United States and the Republican Party's presumptive nominee in the 2024 presidential election, was shot by a bullet wounding his right ear while addressing a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. Shortly after Trump began addressing the rally, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight rounds with an AR-15–style rifle from the roof of a building located around from the stage. Crooks also killed audience member Corey Comperatore and critically injured two other audience members. Crooks was shot and killed by the U.S. Secret Service's counter-sniper team. Video of the incident showed Trump clasping his right ear before taking cover on the floor of the podium, where he was shielded by Secret Service personnel. After agents helped him to his feet, Trump emerged with blood on his ear and face. He then either mouthed or shouted the words "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Photojournalist Evan Vucci of the Associated Press captured images of a bloodied Trump pumping his fist in the air, with an American flag in the background, which went viral on social media and were widely praised as iconic and historically significant. Trump was escorted off-stage and taken to a nearby hospital before being released in stable condition a few hours later. He won the election in November 2024.
As of August 2024[ [update]], an investigation by the FBI has been underway. Crooks's motivation remains unknown.
Other attacks, assassination attempts, and plots.
Gerald Ford.
The two assassination attempts on Gerald Ford in September 1975 are the only two known cases of women attempting to assassinate an American president.
Deaths rumored to have been assassinations.
Zachary Taylor.
On July 9, 1850, President Zachary Taylor died from an illness that was diagnosed as cholera morbus, which allegedly came after eating cherries and milk at a 4th of July celebration. Almost immediately after his death, rumors began to circulate that Taylor was poisoned by pro-slavery Southerners, and similar theories have persisted into the 21st century. In 1991 a neutron activation analysis conducted on samples of Taylor's remains found no evidence of poisonings due to insufficient levels of arsenic. Marxist political scientist Michael Parenti questions the traditional explanation for Taylor's death. Relying on interviews and reports by forensic pathologists, he argues that the procedure used to test for arsenic poisoning was fundamentally flawed.
Warren G. Harding.
In June 1923, President Warren G. Harding set out on a cross-country Voyage of Understanding, planning to meet with citizens and explain his policies. During this trip, he became the first president to visit Alaska, which was then a U.S. territory. Rumors of corruption in the Harding administration were beginning to circulate in Washington, D.C., by 1923, and Harding was profoundly shocked by a long message he received while in Alaska, apparently detailing illegal activities by his own cabinet that were allegedly unknown to him. At the end of July, while traveling south from Alaska through British Columbia, he developed what was thought to be a severe case of food poisoning. He gave the final speech of his life to a large crowd at the University of Washington Stadium (now Husky Stadium) at the University of Washington campus in Seattle, Washington. A scheduled speech in Portland, Oregon, was canceled. The president's train proceeded south to San Francisco. Upon arriving at the Palace Hotel, he developed pneumonia. Harding died in his hotel room of either a heart attack or a stroke at 7:35 PM on August 2, 1923. The formal announcement, printed in "The New York Times" of that day, stated: "A stroke of apoplexy was the cause of death." He had been ill exactly one week.
Naval physicians surmised that Harding had suffered a heart attack. The Hardings' personal medical advisor, homeopath and Surgeon General Charles E. Sawyer, disagreed with the diagnosis. His wife Florence Harding refused permission for an autopsy, which soon led to speculation that he had been the victim of a plot, possibly carried out by Florence, as he apparently had been unfaithful to her. Gaston Means, an amateur historian and gadfly, noted in his book "The Strange Death of President Harding" (1930) that the circumstances surrounding his death led to suspicions that he had been poisoned. A number of individuals attached to him, both personally and politically, would have welcomed Harding's death, as they would have been disgraced in association by Means' assertion of Harding's "imminent impeachment".
References.
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Bibliography.
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List of presidents of the United States who died in office
Since the office was established in 1789, 45 individuals have served as president of the United States. Of these, eight have died in office, of whom four were assassinated and four died of natural causes. In each of these instances, the vice president has succeeded to the presidency. This practice is now governed by Section One of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1967, which declares that, "the Vice President shall become President" if the president is removed from office, dies, or resigns. The initial authorization for this practice was provided by , of the U.S. Constitution.
The first incumbent U.S. president to die was William Henry Harrison, on April 4, 1841, only one month after Inauguration Day. He died from complications of what at the time was believed to be pneumonia. The second U.S. president to die in office, Zachary Taylor, died on July 9, 1850, from acute gastroenteritis. Abraham Lincoln was the third U.S. president to die in office, and was the first to be assassinated. He was shot by John Wilkes Booth on the night of April 14, 1865, and died the following morning. Sixteen years later, on July 2, 1881, James A. Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau, surviving for 79 days before dying on September 19, 1881.
On September 14, 1901, William McKinley died, eight days after being shot by Leon Czolgosz. Next, Warren G. Harding suffered a heart attack, and died on August 2, 1923. On April 12, 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt (who had just begun his fourth term in office) collapsed and died as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage. The most recent U.S. president to die in office was John F. Kennedy, who was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas.
1841: William Henry Harrison.
On March 26, 1841, William Henry Harrison became ill with a cold after being caught in a torrential downpour without cover. His symptoms grew progressively worse over the ensuing two days, at which time a team of doctors was called in to treat him. After making a diagnosis of right lower lobe pneumonia, they proceeded to place heated suction cups on his bare torso and to administer a series of bloodlettings, to supposedly draw out the disease. When those procedures failed to bring about improvement, the doctors treated him with ipecac, Castor oil, calomel, and finally with a boiled mixture of crude petroleum and Virginia snakeroot. All this only weakened Harrison further.
Initially, no official announcement was made concerning Harrison's illness, which, the longer he remained out of public view, fueled public speculation and concern. By the end of the month large crowds were gathering outside the White House, holding vigil while awaiting any news about the president's condition. On the evening of April 4, 1841, nine days after becoming ill, and exactly one month after his inauguration, Harrison died at age 68. His last words were to his attending doctor, though assumed to be directed at Vice President John Tyler:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />Sir, I wish you to understand the true principles of the government. I wish them carried out. I ask nothing more.
A 30-day period of mourning commenced following the president's death. Various public ceremonies, modeled after European royal funeral practices, were held. An invitation-only funeral service was also held, on April 7, in the East Room of the White House, after which Harrison's coffin was brought to Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C., where it was placed in a temporary receiving vault.
That June, Harrison's body was transported by train and river barge to North Bend, Ohio. Then, on July 7, 1841, the nation's 9th president was buried in a family tomb at the summit of Mt. Nebo, overlooking the Ohio River – the William Henry Harrison Tomb State Memorial.
Harrison's death sparked a brief constitutional crisis regarding succession to the presidency, as the U.S. Constitution was unclear as to whether Vice President Tyler should assume the office of president or merely execute the duties of the vacant office as acting president. Tyler claimed a constitutional mandate to carry out the full powers and duties of the presidency and took the presidential oath of office, setting an important precedent for an orderly transfer of presidential power when a president leaves office intra-term.
Coincidentally, all but one of the presidents who later died in office had, like Harrison, won a presidential election in a year ending in a zero (1840 through 1960). This pattern of tragedies came to be known as the Curse of Tippecanoe, or the Curse of Tecumseh, the name of the Shawnee leader against whom Harrison fought in the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe. Also sometimes referred to as the "Zero Factor" legend, the pattern was disrupted by Ronald Reagan, who survived an assassination attempt in 1981 (69 days after taking office) and lived to complete two full terms.
1850: Zachary Taylor.
Zachary Taylor was known to have consumed copious amounts of ice water, cold milk, green apples, and cherries on July 4, 1850, after attending holiday celebrations and the laying of the cornerstone of the Washington Monument. That same evening, he became severely ill with an unknown digestive ailment. Doctors used popular treatments of the time. On the morning of July 9, the president asked his wife Margaret not to grieve saying:
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Taylor died late that evening, five days after becoming ill, at age 65. Contemporary reports listed the cause of death as "bilious diarrhea or a bilious cholera." He was succeeded by Vice President Millard Fillmore.
Taylor's funeral took place on July 13, and like Harrison's nine years earlier, was held in the East Room of the White House. Afterward, an estimated 100,000 people gathered along the funeral route to Congressional Cemetery where his coffin was placed temporarily in the Public Vault; that October it was transported to Louisville, Kentucky. On November 1, 1850, Taylor was buried in his family's burial ground on the Taylor estate, "Springfield", which became the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery.
Almost immediately after his death, rumors began to circulate that he had been poisoned by pro-slavery Southerners, and various conspiracy theories persisted into the late-20th century. The cause of Taylor's death was definitively established in 1991, when his remains were exhumed and an autopsy conducted by Kentucky's chief medical examiner. Subsequent neutron activation analysis conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory revealed no evidence of poisoning, as arsenic levels were too low. The analysis concluded Taylor had contracted cholera morbus (acute gastroenteritis), as Washington had open sewers, and his food or drink may have been contaminated.
1865: Abraham Lincoln.
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln took place on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, as the Civil War was drawing to a close. He died the following morning at the age of 56. The assassination occurred five days after General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Potomac following the Battle of Appomattox Court House. Lincoln was the first American president to be killed by an assassin. (The first U.S. president to be confronted by a would-be assassin was Andrew Jackson 30 years earlier, in January 1835.)
The assassination of President Lincoln was planned and carried out by the well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer, vehement in his denunciation of Lincoln, and a strong opponent of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Booth and a group of co-conspirators originally plotted to kidnap Lincoln, but later planned to kill him, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William H. Seward in a bid to help the Confederacy's cause. Johnson's would-be-assassin, George Atzerodt did not carry out his part of the plan, and Johnson succeeded Lincoln as president while Lewis Powell only managed to wound Seward.
Lincoln was shot once in the back of his head while watching the play "Our American Cousin" with his wife Mary Todd Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on the night of April 14, 1865. An army surgeon who happened to be at Ford's, Doctor Charles Leale, assessed Lincoln's wound as mortal. The unconscious president was then carried across the street from the theater to the Petersen House, where he remained in a coma for eight hours before dying the following morning.
Within two weeks of the manhunt for Lincoln's killers, on April 26, 1865, Booth and David Herold were caught in a tobacco barn in Port Conway, Virginia. While Herold surrendered, Booth was shot to death by Boston Corbett, a Union Corporal.
A three-week series of official functions were held following the president's death. He lay in state in the East Room of the White House which was open to the public on April 18. A funeral service was held the next day, and then the coffin was transported in a procession down Pennsylvania Avenue to the United States Capitol, where a ceremonial burial service was held in the rotunda. After lying in state at the Capitol, Lincoln's remains were transported by train to Springfield, Illinois, for burial. He was interred on May 4, 1865, at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield – the Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site since 1895.
1881: James A. Garfield.
The assassination of James A. Garfield happened in Washington, D.C., on July 2, 1881. Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau at 9:30a.m., less than four months into his term as the nation's 20th president. He died 11 weeks later on September 19, 1881, at the age of 49. Vice President Chester A. Arthur succeeded him as president. Garfield was scheduled to leave Washington on July 2, 1881, for his summer vacation. On that day, Guiteau lay in wait for the president at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station, on the southwest corner of present-day Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.
President Garfield came to the Sixth Street Station on his way to his alma mater, Williams College, where he was scheduled to deliver a speech. Garfield was accompanied by two of his sons, James and Harry, and Secretary of State James G. Blaine. Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln waited at the station to see the president off. Garfield had no bodyguard or security detail; with the exception of Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, early U.S. presidents never used any guards.
As President Garfield entered the waiting room of the station, Guiteau stepped forward and pulled the trigger from behind at point-blank range. "My God, what is that?!" Garfield cried out, flinging up his arms. Guiteau fired again and Garfield collapsed. One bullet grazed Garfield's shoulder; the other hit him in the back, passing the first lumbar vertebra but missing the spinal cord before coming to rest behind his pancreas.
Garfield, conscious but in shock, was carried to an upstairs floor of the train station. Lincoln sent for D.C. Bliss, a prominent Washington physician, who soon arrived and examined Garfield's wounds several times, probing for the bullet that remained lodged in the president's body with his fingers and metal probes. Two additional doctors were summoned, and they also probed the entry wound. Eventually there were about twenty people in the room, including at least ten physicians. As Garfield was being cared for, Lincoln, thinking back to the death of his father, said "How many hours of sorrow I have passed in this town."
Garfield was carried back to the White House. Although doctors told him that he would not survive the night, the president remained conscious and alert. The next morning his vital signs were good and doctors began to hope for recovery. A long vigil began, with Garfield's doctors issuing regular bulletins that the American public followed closely throughout the summer of 1881. His condition fluctuated. Fevers came and went. Garfield struggled to keep down solid food and spent most of the summer eating little, and that only liquids.
Garfield had been a regular visitor to the shore town of Long Branch, New Jersey, one of the nation's premier summer vacation spots until World War I. In early September, it was decided to bring him to Elberon, a quiet beach town just to the south of Long Branch, in hopes that the beach air would help him recover. When they heard that the president was being brought to their town, local citizens built more than half a mile of tracks in less than 24 hours, enabling Garfield to be brought directly to the door of the oceanfront Franklyn cottage, rather than being moved by carriage from the local Elberon train station. However, Garfield died 12 days later. A granite marker on Garfield Road identifies the former site of the cottage, which was demolished in 1950. Throughout the five-month drama, anxious Americans across the country were kept informed of developments by the news media. The publisher of "Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper", Miriam Leslie, was especially quick to publish fully illustrated accounts of key moments, from Garfield's shooting to the embalming of his body.
Chester Arthur was at his home in New York City on the night of September 19, when word came that Garfield had died. After first getting the news, Arthur said "I hope—my God, I do hope it is a mistake." But confirmation by telegram came soon after. Arthur took the presidential oath of office, administered by a New York Supreme Court judge, then left for Long Branch to pay his respects before traveling on to Washington. Garfield's body was taken to Washington, where it lay in state for two days in the Capitol Rotunda before being taken to Cleveland, where the funeral was held on September 26.
When the tracks that had been hastily built to the Franklyn cottage were later torn up, actor Oliver Byron bought the wooden ties, and had local carpenter William Presley build them into a small tea house, in commemoration of the president. The red & white (originally red, white & blue) "Garfield Tea House" still survives, resting a couple of blocks away from the site of the cottage on the grounds of the Long Branch Historical Museum, a former Episcopal Church. The church is nicknamed "The Church of the Presidents," as it had been attended by, in addition to Garfield, presidents Chester A. Arthur, Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison, Rutherford Hayes, William McKinley, and Woodrow Wilson, during their own visits to Long Branch.
1901: William McKinley.
William McKinley was assassinated on September 6, 1901, inside the Temple of Music on the grounds of the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. McKinley was shaking hands with the public when Leon Czolgosz, a Polish-American anarchist, shot him. The 58-year-old president died eight days later on September 14 from gangrene caused by the bullet wounds.
McKinley had been elected for a second term in 1900. He enjoyed meeting the public, and was reluctant to accept the security available to his office. The secretary to the president, George B. Cortelyou, feared an assassination attempt would take place during a visit to the Temple of Music, and twice took it off the schedule. McKinley restored it each time.
Czolgosz had lost his job during the economic Panic of 1893 and turned to anarchism, a political philosophy whose adherents had previously killed foreign leaders. Regarding McKinley as a symbol of oppression, Czolgosz felt it was his duty as an anarchist to kill him. Unable to get near McKinley during the earlier part of the presidential visit, Czolgosz shot McKinley twice as the President reached to shake his hand in the reception line at the temple. One bullet grazed McKinley; the other entered his abdomen and was never found.
McKinley initially appeared to be recovering, but took a turn for the worse on September 13 as his wounds became gangrenous, and died early the next morning; Vice President Theodore Roosevelt succeeded him. Roosevelt was hiking near the top of Mt. Marcy, in New York's Adirondack region, when a runner located him to convey the news. After McKinley's murder, for which Czolgosz was put to death in the electric chair, the United States Congress passed legislation to officially charge the Secret Service with the responsibility for protecting the president.
1923: Warren G. Harding.
Warren G. Harding died from a sudden heart attack in his hotel suite while visiting San Francisco on the evening of August 2, 1923, at the age of 57. His death quickly led to theories that he had been poisoned or committed suicide. Rumors of poisoning were fueled, in part, by a book called "The Strange Death of President Harding" by private detective and former Ohio Gang member