Rutherford Birchard Hayes

Born in Delaware, Ohio, in 1822, he studied at Kenyon College and Harvard Law School before building a successful legal career in Ohio. During the Civil War, he served in the Union Army, was wounded several times, and rose to the rank of brevet major general. After the war, he moved through public life as a congressman and then governor of Ohio.

In 1877 he entered the presidency after the fiercely contested election of 1876. Hayes is often remembered for ending federal military intervention in the South as Reconstruction drew to a close, while also pushing for civil service reform and trying to restore public trust in government. He served one term and did not seek reelection.

After leaving the White House, he remained active in public causes, especially education and prison reform, and spent much of his later life at Spiegel Grove in Fremont, Ohio. He died in 1893, leaving behind a reputation for personal integrity and steady, if often cautious, leadership in a divided era.