4 April 12023

♂   4 April 12023 is Peace Day (Angola), Mahavir Jayanti (India), Independence Day (Senegal), and Children’s Day (Taiwan). I’m going to hope that I haven’t lost count and it really is JD 2460039 (astronomical), 26 Paremhat 1739 (Coptic), 26 Megabit 2015 (Ethiopian), 4 April 2023 (Gregorian), 14 Nisan 5783 (Hebrew), 15 Caitra 1945 (Indian), 14 Ramadan 1444 (Islamic), 22 March 2023 (Julian), and 16 Farvardin 1402 (Persian). People of note who were born on this date include slavery opponent Thaddeus Stevens (11792), poet Maya Angelou (11928), and actor Kenneth Mars (11935). The saint of the day is Martin Luther King.

On this day in history (11841) John Tyler became president of the United States, the first time a vice-president had achieved the position by virtue of the death of his predecessor. As the Constitution was not specific on this point, there was at first some confusion whether Tyler was actually president in his own right, or was merely acting as Harrison’s stand-in or substitute. Tyler made it clear that as far as he was concerned he was president himself, not acting president or just the guy charged with carrying out Harrison’s policies due to his incapacity through death. Tyler had himself sworn in and refused to accept any communications addressed to him as anything other than “president”. This was one of those peculiar moments in history where one person may make a significant difference—had John Tyler handled things differently, had he set different precedents, the presidential succession might look very different today. Had he conceived his job to be merely fulfilling Harrison’s intentions, rather than beginning an administration of his own, the shadow he cast over history might have altered the actions of his successors. And, sadly, that may have been the most significant move the man made in his life. His administration was undistinguished, and he became a traitor to his country when the Civil War broke out. Still, it’s more than most of us get in leaving footprints on the sands of time.