John Tyler

1 5.3

The tenth President of the United States who became president after William Henry Harrison died

proper noun
/dʒɒn ˈtaɪlər/

: John Tyler

Four other presidents—William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson—were also born in the state.
President John Tyler
U.S. President John Tyler

Examples

Eells also pointed out that Bourne had neglected important documentary evidence: in particular, an 1843 letter that Whitman had written to James Porter, President John Tyler's Secretary of War.

Academic text (2018)
Owned by U.S. Presidents John Tyler and William H. Harrison and still occupied by descendants of both.

Academic text (1995)
Sherwood Plantation was once owned by the tenth U.S. President John Tyler; it is the longest frame house in America.

Academic text (1995)
Four days later, although the Picayune had not yet received word about the 1841 Act, the newspaper optimistically predicted that the bill would be sent to and signed by President John Tyler.

Academic text (2018)
For instance, in 1838, future United States president John Tyler opined, "God works most inscrutably to the understandings of men; the Negro is torn from Africa, a barbarian, ignorant, and idolatrous."

Academic text (2018)
John Tyler served as the 10th President of the United States from 1841 to 1845.
As President, John Tyler faced significant challenges in balancing the interests of his party and the nation.
The legacy of John Tyler includes his unique position as the first Vice President to assume the presidency after a president's death.

Surface Forms

John Tyler main

Morphology

John + Tyler

Both constituents are personal names and knowing the words 'John' and 'Tyler' does not provide any clue that the phrase refers to the 10th US president. Proper names are arbitrary labels whose referential meaning depends on world knowledge rather than compositional semantics, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words would not be able to derive the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

John Tyler is the name of the 10th President of the United States, who became president when William Henry Harrison died in 1841. Tyler insisted he was the real president and not just an 'acting' one, so his case helped make clear that a vice-president 'takes over' the job fully when a president dies.