Warren G. Harding tomb photograph

This photograph shows the tomb in which the remains of President Warren G. Harding and Mrs. Florence Kling Harding were laid to rest in their hometown of Marion, Ohio, ca. 1940-1970. Construction of the tomb was completed in 1927 and President and Mrs. Harding's bodies were moved to the tomb in December of that year. On June 16, 1931 the tomb was officially dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge. This photograph is part of a photograph album in the Warren G. Harding Photograph Collection (P146). Warren G. Harding, the 29th President of the United States (1921-1923), was born in Blooming Grove, Ohio, in 1865. At age 14, Harding attended Ohio Central College in Iberia, Ohio, where he edited the campus newspaper and became an accomplished public speaker. He married Florence Kling de Wolfe in 1891, and embarked on his political career in 1900 by winning a seat in the Ohio legislature. After serving two terms as an Ohio Senator, Harding served as Lieutenant Governor in 1904 for two years before returning to the newspaper business. Although he lost the 1910 gubernatorial race, Harding was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1914. Political insider Harry Daugherty promoted Harding for the Republican presidential nomination in 1920. His front porch campaign was centered on speeches given from his home in Marion, Ohio, pledging to return the country to “normalcy” in this post World War I era. Harding easily won the election, gaining 61 percent of the popular vote. On August 2, 1923, Harding unexpectedly died from a massive heart attack while touring the western United States, and is entombed in the Marion Cemetery