A pair of presidential paths runs through elite campuses: William Henry Harrison studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania before switching to a military life, while Donald Trump is described as the first actual University of Pennsylvania graduate to
At the University of Pennsylvania, the route from lecture halls to national power began with a detour that Harrison never planned.
William Henry Harrison arrived at the university in 1790 and studied medicine under Dr. Benjamin Rush, a physician and Founding Father who signed the Declaration of Independence. But the pivot came fast. Harrison later told his biographer that he didn’t want a life in medicine. saying he found himself “not liking the medical profession.” After his father died and left the family in financial straits. he pursued a military career.
More than two centuries later. the story takes another turn through the same university—this time via a transfer that leads straight to the White House. The first actual University of Pennsylvania graduate to ascend to the White House is Donald Trump. He transferred from Fordham University to the Wharton School. During college, Trump worked for his father’s business.
In speeches, Trump has leaned heavily on that Wharton pedigree as a kind of personal proof. He has often used it as evidence that he is “a very smart person.” In one example. Trump told a South Carolina crowd in July 2015: “Good genes. very good genes. OK. very smart. the Wharton School of Finance. very good. very smart.”.
The sequence is stark even without a scoreboard: Harrison’s time at the University of Pennsylvania began in medicine but ended in the military after financial pressure, while Trump’s path—through Fordham to Wharton—has been used publicly as a résumé of intelligence and business training.
William Henry Harrison Donald Trump University of Pennsylvania Wharton School Fordham University Benjamin Rush presidential education