On this day in 1885,

Ulysses S. Grant Dies

Once the Most Popular Man in the World

Dies Of Cancer Nearly Bankrupt Using Cocaine To Finish Mark Twain-Assisted Bio

On this day in 1885, General and President Ulysses S. Grant died. 

Grant’s original name was Hiram Ulysses Grant but the congressman who wrote his recommendation to West Point mistakenly referred to him as Ulysses S. Grant.  The new name stuck.

After serving successfully on the western front, Grant had about hit bottom in the business world before he resorted to asking his father for a job in Galena, Illinois.  When the Civil War began, Grant wrote a letter offering his services to the War Department, but apparently no one bothered to read the letter and it was later found in a miscellaneous file cabinet.  Grant then offered his services to General George McClellan but McClellan was too busy to talk to Grant.  Finally, the governor of Illinois, somewhat desperate for a commander, gave Grant a regiment of volunteers to lead.  As they say, the rest is history.

Grant died of throat cancer likely caused by his wartime habit of chain-smoking cigars, a habit he may have developed to kick his drinking habit.  Thanks to a fraudulent investment scheme recommended by his son, Grant was virtually bankrupt the last months of his life.  In order to provide income for his wife, Grant began working on an autobiography which his friend, Mark Twain, promised he would publish.  Aided by regular use of cocaine, Grant finished working on his life story just a few days before he died.