THE US PRESIDENT WHO WAS AFRAID OF TOUCHING LIGHT SWITCHES

PEOPLE

 

The U.S. President Who Was Afraid of Touching Light Switches. Seriously, He Just Left the Lights On

By Paloma Chavez  Published on January 29, 2026 06:30AM EST

 

It was the height of the Second Industrial Revolution and the White House had just welcomed it's 23rd president, Benjamin Harrison.

 

Benjamin — the grandson of ninth U.S. President William Henry Harrison and great-grandson of Founding Father Benjamin Harrison V — played a significant role in foreign affairs during his presidency, building up the U.S. Navy and investing in diplomatic relations with Central and South America.

 

But back at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., he faced a much simpler threat that would test his image as a tough leader: electric light switches.

 

The idea of an electric light bulb illuminating a room would be mesmerizing for many Americans at the time, but for Benjamin and first lady Caroline Harrison, bringing electricity into their home left them scared.

 

When electric lights were installed in the White House in 1891, which included altering the Grant-era gas globe chandeliers, the wires were hidden in plaster, according to the White House Historical Association. The round switches added to every room would soon become one of Benjamin's biggest fears.

 

The president and first lady — who met in college and shared two children, Mary and Russell — were uneasy about the light switches, refusing to touch them and leaving the task up to White House staff.

 

White House electrician Ike H. Hoover wrote in his memoir, 42 Years in the White House, that "the Harrison family were actually afraid to turn the lights on and off for fear of getting a shock."

 

"I would turn on the lights in the halls and parlors in the evening and they would burn until I returned the next morning to extinguish them," Hoover wrote.

 

Hoover, 19 years old at the time, said he got to know the Harrisons well during the residence's upgrade to electricity, which was done in tandem with wiring the State, War and Navy building next door (now known as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building). The Edison company installed a generator for both buildings, and wires were placed along the lawn under the White House's conservatory.

 

"In due time I got down to the job of wiring and installing the electric appliances. The wonderful old chandeliers, built for gas, were converted into combination fixtures and the candle wall brackets were replaced by electric fixtures in the fashion of the time," Hoover wrote in his memoir. "The Harrisons were all much interested in this new and unusual device that was being installed; so much so, that we got quite well acquainted with them."

 

Although the idea of turning the lights on and off reportedly frightened the nation's first couple, White House guests were in awe of the development.

 

A front page article on the Sept. 25, 1891, issue of The Washington Post highlighted the “special treat” doctors received when attending a reception at the White House saying, "The East Room... was darkened, and the electric lights were turned on. The brilliant effect was greatly admired."

 

Hoover was told his electrician services wouldn't be needed after May 15, 1891, but the following day he got an offer of full-time employment at the White House, to which he accepted becoming “like the electric lights, a permanent fixture," according to the WHHA.

 

Hoover described the Harrison White House as a "homelike administration" as they were a "tight knit family" and had "Hoosier ideas of simplicity."

 

The family's routine was one they rarely shied away from: breakfast at 8 a.m. followed by a 1 p.m. lunch and an early dinner.

 

Caroline, a lover of painting and watercolor, worked with architect Frederick D. Owens to help design a newer version of the White House that would include more living spaces, a wing for an “American Art Gallery” and an enclosed garden, according to her WHHA bio. Although her plans never came to fruition, she improved the White House’s service spaces, including the kitchens.

 

The WHHA said Caroline “expressed concern over the lack of historical objects from former administrations” leading to the curation of furniture and art in several rooms. Her own artwork was even on display, with her inviting congressional wives to to learn how to design China at the White House.

 

While serving as the first lady, Caroline got tuberculosis and her condition worsened through the spring and summer of 1892. She died in October of that year.

 

After Caroline's death, her daughter, Mary, became the acting first lady and took over White House hosting duties for the final few months of her father's presidency.

 

Although he was hesitant about the new technology at first, Benjamin grew to appreciate electricity and eventually renovated his Indianapolis home after his presidency to install electric lights.

 

Hoover, the electrician who helped the Harrisons survive the rough transition to a more modern home, stayed employed by the White House for 42 years, ultimately serving as the chief White House usher — a title he held under six different presidents — until his death in 1933 at the age of 61.

 

Many decades after the Harrisons timidly navigated electrical switches for the first time, White House staff found themselves working under a commander in chief with quite the opposite problem as Benjamin, according to an article by the U.S. Department of Energy.

 

President Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th U.S. president, was notorious for flipping the White House lights off any time he thought a room was empty, often leaving people in the dark. His eagerness to engage with the electrical light switches earned him the nickname "Light Bulb Johnson" among the staff.