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The U.S. President And His Wife Attacked During A Public Appearance With A Pancake

Grover Cleveland and his wife Frances were assaulted in a very unusual manner while visiting St. Louis in 1887

Andrew Martin
4 min readMar 14, 2023

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American Presidents are assailed in all manner of ways during their tenures. On top of the typical political attacks they expect to get on a regular basis, there is a persistent fear of actual physical harm. Out of the 46 executives to hold office, four have been assassinated and another two had attempts made on their lives. They have to be ever vigilant, including for things that one might never suspect in a million years. Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President, found that out the hard way when he was at a public event with his wife once and they found themselves under attack by a pancake.

The October 27, 1887 issue of the South Wales Echo reported the unusual ambush ambush on him and his wife Frances:

“During the visit of President Cleveland and Mrs Cleveland to the fair grounds at St Louis the other day, Mrs Cleveland, who was seated along with her husband in a carriage, was startled and surprised by the sudden appearance of a hot pancake in her lap. She had been used to receiving bouquets in that manner, but a hot pancake was something she was unprepared for.

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Andrew Martin
Andrew Martin

Written by Andrew Martin

Dabbler in soccer, history, investing & writing. Master’s degree in baseball history. Passionate about history, diversity, culture, sports, film and investing .

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