William McKinley

1843-01-29 - 1901-09-14 Contemporaries

William McKinley (1843–1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. A Republican, he led the United States in the Spanish–American War and oversaw a period of American expansionism, with the annexations of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines, and American Samoa. He was the last president to have served in the Civil War, rising from enlisted man to brevet major.