James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the
20th President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881, until
his assassination later that year. Garfield had served nine terms in the House of Representatives, and had been elected to the Senate before his candidacy for the
White House, though he declined the senatorship once he was
president-elect. He is the only sitting House member to be elected president.