I finally managed to edit a painting of Millard Fillmore, from the White House site, to fit the header. Fillmore is generally considered to be one of the worst presidents ever, but the capital of Utah was once named for him when the Mormons were trying to win his favor to gain statehood (Fillmore, in Millard County — the capital was moved later). It didn’t work, and Utah didn’t achieve statehood for another four decades.
I am still looking for a picture of his actual bathtub.
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Administrivia, Fillmore's bathtub, Millard Fillmore | 
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Posted by Ed Darrell
History is a study of what happened and why. Often, high school and college studies of history are ruined by rote memorization of a long list of dates with a couple of words describing an event. That is not history. Often, studies of history are ruined through unreliable sources.
H. L. Mencken, the famous newspaper columnist from Baltimore, wrote a column published December 28, 1917, about the history of the bathtub, specifically that it was rare in the U.S., and how President Millard Fillmore introduced it to the White House, thereby making bathtubs and bathing popular. The column was brilliant, and it was a complete fabrication, a hoax. Within two years, however, Mencken’s column had found its way to reference books, encyclopedias, and bad history books. Here is Mencken’s original column: “A Neglected Anniversary.” [3/19/2009 – that link is dead; see Mencken’s column here.] You can read a history of the hoax and its spread at this site, Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub.
It’s a great story, about a do-nothing president, the press, and errors of history. To know the story, dates are unimportant. No one cares what years Fillmore was actually in office, no one cares exactly when Mencken’s column was published. Knowing lists of dates has never stopped a bad historian from reciting the erroneous claim that Millard Fillmore introduced the concept of bathing in a bathtub to the White House.
But now you know better.
This site is dedicated to knowing history, especially U.S. history, better.
Thank you for visiting. Noodle around, see what articles are here, leave some comments if you care to. Especially, if you find errors, leave a note of correction.
23 Comments | Bogus history, Fillmore's bathtub, Hoaxes, Journalism, Millard Fillmore, Presidents | Tagged: Accuracy, bathtub, Bogus history, H. L. Mencken, History, Hoaxes, Journalism, Millard Fillmore | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
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Ed Darrell on Texas's Colorado River
Come on in, the water's fine. Come often: Cleanliness is next to godliness.
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 