15 Before and After Photos of U.S. Presidents Serving Their Term

Soo Kim

By Soo Kim

Reporter

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As holders of one of the planet's most important offices, U.S. presidents are no stranger to photographs—both through their years at the White House as well as after they've served their terms.

The first form of photography was daguerreotype, which was introduced in France back in 1839. The White House Historical Association explains: "In its primitive stages the daguerreotype, a silvered plate of copper rendered light-sensitive by exposure to iodine fumes, was photographically too slow for practical portraiture.

"Within a year of the announced discovery, however, inquisitive minds in all comers of the globe had devised improvements in chemistry and optics, enabling the establishment of photographic portrait galleries. Daguerreotypes were produced in great numbers in France and elsewhere in Europe. It was in America, however, that photography took on the proportions of a major industry," the association adds.

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Among the earliest practitioners of daguerreotype was John Plumbe, Jr. His 1846 daguerreotype of the official residence of James K. Polk, the 11th president of the U.S., is the earliest known photograph of the White House.

"This photograph, together with views of the Capitol, Patent Office, and Post Office, was discovered in California in 1973 and is now in the collection of the Library of Congress," the association says.

The first president to have his photograph taken while in office was William Henry Harrison, taken sometime between March 4 and 6 in 1841.

Harrison was also the first to die while in office, having caught a cold that developed into pneumonia. Dying on his 32nd day in office, Harrison served the shortest term in U.S. presidential history.

According to the photographer, "Harrison was 'delighted with the results.' In a month's time Harrison would be dead from pneumonia contracted during his lengthy inaugural address. This likeness of the ephemeral President Harrison has never been found," the White House Historical Association website says.

The earliest existing known photograph of a U.S. president is an 1843 daguerreotype of John Quincy Adams, which was acquired by The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in 2017.

As President Joe Biden marks just over a month in office, here we look at images of different U.S. presidents, captured both during and after their terms.