Acting President of the United States On April 4, 1841, only one month after his inauguration, President William Henry Harrison died. He was the first U.S. president to die in office. Afterward, a constitutional crisis ensued over the Constitution's ambiguous presidential succession provision (). Shortly after Harrison's death, his Cabinet met and decided that Vice President John Tyler would assume the responsibilities of presidency under the title "Vice-President acting President". Instead of accepting the Cabinet's proposed title, however, Tyler asserted that the Constitution gave him full and unqualified powers of the office and had himself sworn in immediately as President, setting a critical precedent for an
William Dowdeswell (politician, born 1841) Tewkesbury which he held until March 1866. In 1866 he was elected MP for West Worcestershire and held the seat until 1876. Dowdeswell married Emily Parkyns, daughter of Sir Thomas Parkyns, 6th Baronet in February 1869. Dowdeswell died on 12 July 1893; he was 52 years old. William Dowdeswell (politician, born 1841) William Edward Dowdeswell (13 June 1841 – 12 July 1893) was an English Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1865 and 1876. Dowdeswell was the son of William Dowdeswell of Pull Court and his wife Amelia Letitia Graham daughter of Robert Graham of Cossington