This informative post will be published on Saturday in place of my regular one.  You are invited to participate with the opening question.

Brain Teaser Question

How do you know that Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are about to get married?

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

The 25th President of the United States was William McKinley, who hailed from the state of Ohio.

Here are a few quick facts about President McKinley:

• Political party:  Republican
• Birthplace:  Niles, Ohio (January 29, 1843)
• Death:  September 14, 1901 (Buffalo, New York)
• Nickname:  “The Idol of Ohio”
• Colleges attended:  Allegheny College (Salem, Ohio), Mount Union College (Alliance, Ohio)
• Occupations:  School teacher, soldier, lawyer

McKinley spent his entire political career in the Buckeye state of Ohio.  Elected to seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and two terms as Governor, he was well-positioned to become President of the American Union.

McKinley’s earlier years found him serving in the Union army during the American Civil War, where he led a group of volunteers from his home state.  Later, he practiced law in the city of Canton, which was not far from his childhood roots in Niles.  

McKinley was elected to two terms as President.  In both the elections of 1896 and 1900, his Democratic challenger was William Jennings Bryant.  Unfortunately, he became the third President to be assassinated during the early months of his second term.  

McKinley was attending the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York when he was murdered.  His Vice President, Theodore Roosevelt, succeeded him as President.

As President, McKinley was a strong supporter of protective tariffs.  During his first term, the United States successfully defended itself in the Spanish-American War of 1898.  In the treaty that ended the hostilities, the United States gained the Spanish territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

McKinley’s namesake has been used as the portrait on the United States’ $500 bill.  His name was designated for the highest mountain peak in North America, Mount McKinley.  In 2015 the Alaskan peak was renamed Denali, its traditional native name.

Moving from top left and clockwise:  presidential portrait, canton home, mckinley national memorial (in canton), civil war portrait, his assassination in the cleveland newspaper.  (Images courtesy of Pinterest)

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

They all have rings.