Benjamin Harrison Eastman Johnson, 1895 White House Historical Association

Benjamin Harrison, also known as the centennial president and grandson of 9th President William Henry Harrison, took his oath as president in 1889 on the nation's 100th year inaugural anniversary. Known as an unfriendly president, Harrison once wore gloves to protect him from infection from others, and it supposedly bothered him to shake the hands of White House visitors. However his respect for the American flag was far greater; he was determined to institutionalize its use, raising the flag over the White House as well as over other government buildings. Harrison complained about the lack of privacy on the White House grounds, saying, "The White House is an office and a home combined. An evil combination." When he sought to expand the White House, his ideas fashioned its size and design to that of a grand palace. American sentiment for the house, as well as political issues, prevented this from happening. Before losing the re-election for a second term in 1892, Benjamin Harrison lost his wife, Caroline, in the White House due to complications from tuberculosis. Caroline Harrison set up the first Christmas tree ever in the White House and started the White House china collection. In 1889 Caroline Harrison found fault with the "circus atmosphere" in the mansion when she found visitors wandering uninvited into the family quarters. When she proposed an expansion of the White House, Congress disapproved. She settled instead for renovations to the house, which included the installation of the first electrical wiring system in the mansion. Ironically, because Harrison and his wife were scared of getting shocked, they never touched the electrical switches but resorted to the use of gas lamps instead.