On this day, July 17, in 1858, Rep. John Quitman died at his home in Mississippi, presumably from the effects of what was called the National Hotel Disease, contracted a year earlier in the District.
Some believe his death was a result of a failed assassination attempt on President-elect James Buchanan during an celebration at the National Hotel on the eve of his inauguration.
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Nearly three dozen people, including two other congressmen, died from the disease, and as many as 400 people were sickened.
Buchanan himself was ill for weeks, and lost a nephew to the ailment.
It is disputed whether the affliction was food poisoning or an attempt to poison the powerful boarders of the plush hotel.
Experts today believe the victims died of dysentery caused by the antiquated sewage system of the National Hotel, now the site of the Newseum.
— Scott McCabe
