7. Strange But True

7.3. The Zero Year Curse

E-mail: I was looking through your Presidential Trivia site, but I couldn't find anything about the myth relating to President's elected in a zero year. Supposedly, there was a curse placed on all Presidents elected in a zero year and since the curse, all have died in office until President Reagan, who supposedly broke the curse. I guess my question is this. Is there any truth to this curse and what is the origin? [legend]

Email: A trivia questions, that I found, was "What was eerie about Presidential elections held every 20 years from 1840 to 1960?"  In 1811, then Governor William Henry Harrison, gathered an army and marched against a pair of indian leaders (one known as The Prophet and his brother Tecumseh) who were attempting to unite the Shawnee Indian tribes in order to rid themselves of the curse of the white men-alcohol.  In this battle, known as the battle of Tippecanoe, Shawnees were slaughtered and in a later battle, The Prophet was killed.  Tecumseh joined with the British to fight against the Americans in the war of 1812.  When, in 1840, Harrison was elected as president of the U.S., the aging Tecumseh was enraged.  He placed a curse on the nemesis who ran a campaign based on slaughtering Indians.  The curse is said to be placed on every president that is elected in a year that ends in zero, and that the president will die an untimely death.

One month after he was in office, Harrison died of pneumonia, the first U.S. President to die in office.

In 1860, Lincoln was elected and died during his second term.

In 1880, Garfield was elected and died of a gunshot wound the following year.

In 1900, McKinley was re-elected and died of a two gunshot wounds the next year.

In 1920, Harding was elected and three years later died of a sudden heart attack.

In 1940, Roosevelt was re-elected and during his fourth term died.

In 1960, Kennedy was elected and died in 1963.

In 1980 Reagan broke the tradition by narrowly surviving an assassination attempt.

Coincidences?

E-mail: Something that you might find interesting:  It's called the Zero Year Curse.  It is supposedly a curse that some Indian Chief put on the Office of President that any President elected in a year ending in zero will die in office. Have you ever heard of this, and does it have any merit?

The year 2000 is a zero year.  Should we be concerned?

Reply: Yes, I have heard of the "curse."  Every president elected in a year ending in zero from 1840 through 1960 died in office.  Reagan supposedly broke the curse in 1981 when he survived being shot.

What I have always wondered is this:  If an Indian chief could cause a president to die every 20 years or so, why not every 10 years or every year?  Or just make every white man die and be done with it.

So I don't hold much with curses, but amazing coincidences do happen and they are fun to speculate about.