Chester A. Arthur

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I'm totally sure he was born in the Northeast Kingdom. Foreigner!

"I may be President of the United States, but my private life is nobody's damn business." —Chester A. Arthur

Chester A. Arthur was one of the most well-liked presidents of all time, a dapper, congenial schmoozer whom it was almost impossible to dislike. His critics, though, claimed that he accomplished nothing other than banquets and parties during his term.

There were rumors that he wasn't a natural-born American citizen, which would've made him ineligible for the presidency, but the people behind this rumor needed a couple of tries to come up with a plausible country of origin, so they weren't terribly credible. (Sounding familiar yet?) In reality there is a 99.948% probability he was born in Vermont.

His political career was largely a product of the New York political machine, and he was a close, personal friend of its boss, Roscoe Conkling. That Arthur went on to wage a war of reform against the patronage system is one of the lesser-known ironies of American history, but as Garfield was shot by a disgruntled office seeker after attempting similar reforms, he felt it was his duty. A friend was said to comment, "He's no longer Chet Arthur, but the president."

Most modern references to Chester A. Arthur focus not on his presidency, but on his rather spectacular set of mutton chops.

He upgraded the US Navy, which would then be used by William McKinley to wage the Spanish American War. He also refused to move into the White House until it was renovated by Lewis Comfort Tiffany. Truman Capote may have had Breakfast At Tiffany's but Chet Arthur had Tiffany for breakfast.

His wife, Nell, died 20 months before he became president and he vowed never to re-marry. This didn't stop him from getting four marriage proposals on his last day in office, though.

Check out a one-minute biography here.

In Fiction

• Chester A. Arthur middle school is the site of the bomb plot in Die Hard With a Vengeance.
  • The clue to this is "What is 21 out of 42?", there being 42 presidents at the time of writing.
• In Lisa the Iconoclast, Lisa Simpson admits to suffering from "Chester A. Arthritis".
• Futurama: "Chester A. Arthur fall down."