POLK, 11th, 1845-49

Somber, stern, thin-lipped, James Knox Polk was physically undistinguishable.

The least conspicuous man who had ever been nominated for President, Polk called himself the hardest-working man in this country. His wife, Sarah Childress, lightened his workload by becoming his competent confidential secretary.

A gallstone operation, without anesthesia or antiseptics, may have left him sterile.

Polk explained his handshaking technique in his diary: "a man should shake and not be shaken, grip and not be gripped, taking care always to squeeze the hand of his adversary as hard as he squeezed him. ...When I observed a strong man approaching I generally took advantage of him by being a little quicker than he was and seizing him by the tips of his fingers, giving him a hearty shake, and thus preventing him from getting a full grip upon me."

The most blatant of our expansionist Presidents, Polk sent his message to Congress declaring war on Mexico. General Winfield Scott took possession of Mexico City on September 14, 1847 and the halls of Montezuma were invaded. Subsequently, Polk suffered from chronic diarrhea, succumbing to it three months out of office.

Polk's last words were: "I love you, Sarah. For all eternity, I love you." Polk left most of his estate to his wife with the request that she free their slaves upon her death.

d. June 15, 1849 (Nashville, Tennessee) at 53 of chronic diarrhea.