Biography:

James Abram Garfield was the 20th president of the United States and was assassinated 200 days into his presidency.  He was born on November 19, 1831 in Ohio, and lost his father when he was two years old.  He graduated in 1856 from Williams College, became a classics professor, and served as president of the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (Hiram College).  He became a state senator in 1859 and later a major general in the Union Army.  He served nine consecutive terms in the US House of Representatives from 1863 to 1880.  In 1880 Republicans nominated Garfield as their presidential candidate.  He won a narrow victory against his Democratic opponent Winfield S. Hancock.  As president, Garfield fought for civil service reform and called for an investigation of the Post Office.  On July 2, 1881 Charles Guiteau shot the President in a Washington D.C Railway Station.  Due to his injuries, Garfield was no longer able to govern and died eighty days later on September 19, 1881.