Rutherford Birchard Hayes

(1822 - 1893 )

Who was Rutherford Hayes ?

    Rutherford B. Hayes was born in Ohio, son of his father Rutherford Hayes, and mother Sophia Birchard Hayes. He graduated from Harvard Law and practiced law until the Civil War. While holding the position of brevet major general, he was elected to the House of Representatives.

    Hayes was elected by a margin of one vote, with 185 electoral votes to 184 for Samuel J. Tilden. The months before his election were an anxious time for Hayes, as he needed all of the disputed electoral votes in Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida to win. An Electoral Commission announced Hayes to be the winner.