VP Biden Among Few to Lose Child While in White House
Rarely has a sitting president or vice president lost a child.
Indeed, Saturday's death of Vice President Joe Biden's son, Beau Biden, marks the first time in over 50 years that a U.S. president or vice president has experienced the death of child while in office.
"It is with broken hearts that Hallie, Hunter, Ashley, Jill and I announce the passing of our husband, brother and son, Beau, after he battled brain cancer with the same integrity, courage and strength he demonstrated every day of his life," the vice president said in a statement.
Here are some presidents who lost a child while in office:
Abraham Lincoln:
In 1862, President Lincoln's son, 11-year-old Willie, died from typhoid fever. The boy may have contracted the disease from contaminated water at the White House, according to the Washington Post.
In 1924, President Coolidge's son, Calvin Jr., died from blood poisoning. The teenager was likely poisoned from a blister he got on his toe while playing lawn tennis on the White House South Grounds.
John F. Kennedy:
Before Beau Biden, the last time a child of a sitting president or vice president passed away was in August 1963, when John F. Kennedy's son Patrick Kennedy died two days after his premature birth in Massachusetts.
Patrick was born five weeks early and weighed less than 5 pounds, the Washington Post reported. While Jackie Kennedy was treated at a Cape Cod hospital, the president slept at the Children's hospital in Boston to be with Patrick, according to the Washington Post.
Kennedy was assassinated in Texas just months later.
