Zachary Taylor was the twelfth president of the United States.  When he moved into the White House, he brought his favorite horse, Whitey, with him.  When President Taylor died, Whitey followed behind him in the funeral procession.

Important events during President Taylor's administration were:

• The first woman to earn a medical degree was Elizabeth Blackwell in 1849.

• The safety pin was patented by Walter Hunt on April 10, 1849.

• Abraham Lincoln got the patent on inflated cylinders for buoying vessels over shoals on May 22, 1849.

• The United States entered into a treaty with the Hawaiian Islands on December 20, 1849.

• There were 23 million people living in the United States in 1850.  Immigrants from Ireland were coming to the United States because there was so much famine in Ireland.

• The gas mask was patented by Benjamin J. Lane on July 2, 1850.

Zachary Taylor was

• the seventh President born in Virginia.

• the first President who wasn't involved with the Continental Congress or a member of the United States Congress.

• the second President inaugurated on March 5th, because March 4th was a Sunday.

• the fourth President who lived in a different state than where he was born.

• the second President to die in office and the second President to die in the White House.