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Presidential Fun Facts
GEORGE
W. BUSH is our 43rd president, but there actually have only been 42
presidents: Cleveland was elected for two nonconsecutive terms and is
counted twice, as our 22nd and 24th president.
EIGHT PRESIDENTS
were born British subjects: Washington, J. Adams, Jefferson, Madison,
Monroe, J. Q. Adams, Jackson, and W. Harrison.
NINE PRESIDENTS
never attended college: Washington, Jackson, Van Buren, Taylor,
Fillmore, Lincoln, A. Johnson, Cleveland, and Truman. The college that
has the most presidents as alumni (five in total) is Harvard: J. Adams,
J. Q. Adams, T. Roosevelt, F. Roosevelt, and Kennedy.
PRESIDENTS
WHO would be considered "Washington outsiders" (i.e., the 18 presidents
who never served in Congress) are: Washington, J. Adams, Jefferson,
Taylor, Grant, Arthur, Cleveland, T. Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson, Coolidge,
Hoover, F. Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and G. W.
Bush.
THE MOST COMMON religious affiliation among presidents has been Episcopalian, followed by Presbyterian.
THE
ANCESTRY of all 43 presidents is limited to the following seven
heritages, or some combination thereof: Dutch, English, Irish,
Scottish, Welsh, Swiss, or German.
THE OLDEST president
inaugurated was Reagan (age 69); the youngest was Kennedy (age 43).
Theodore Roosevelt, however, was the youngest man to become
president——he was 42 when he succeeded McKinley, who had been
assassinated.
THE TALLEST president was Lincoln at 6'4"; at 5'4", Madison was the shortest.
FOURTEEN
PRESIDENTS served as vice presidents: J. Adams, Jefferson, Van Buren,
Tyler, Fillmore, A. Johnson, Arthur, T. Roosevelt, Coolidge, Truman,
Nixon, L. Johnson, Ford, and George Bush.
VICE PRESIDENTS were
originally the presidential candidates receiving the second-largest
number of electoral votes. The Twelfth Amendment, passed in 1804,
changed the system so that the electoral college voted separately for
president and vice president. The presidential candidate, however,
gradually gained power over the nominating convention to choose his own
running mate.
FOR TWO YEARS the nation was run by a president
and a vice president who were not elected by the people. After Vice
President Spiro T. Agnew resigned in 1973, President Nixon appointed
Gerald Ford as vice president. Nixon resigned the following year, which
left Ford as president, and Ford's appointed vice president, Nelson
Rockefeller, as second in line.
THE TERM "First Lady" was first
used in 1877 in reference to Lucy Ware Webb Hayes. Most First Ladies,
including Jackie Kennedy, are said to have hated the label.
JAMES
BUCHANAN was the only president never to marry. Five presidents
remarried after the death of their first wives——two of whom, Tyler and
Wilson, remarried while in the White House. Reagan was the only
divorced president. Six presidents had no children. Tyler——father of
fifteen——had the most.
PRESIDENTS LINCOLN, Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy were assassinated in office.
ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS were made on the lives of Jackson, T. Roosevelt, F. Roosevelt, Truman, Ford, and Reagan.
EIGHT
PRESIDENTS died in office: W. Harrison (after having served only one
month), Taylor, Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Harding, F. Roosevelt, and
Kennedy.
PRESIDENTS ADAMS, Jefferson, and Monroe all died on the 4th of July; Coolidge was born on that day.
KENNEDY AND TAFT are the only presidents buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
LINCOLN, JEFFERSON, F. Roosevelt, Washington, Kennedy, and Eisenhower are portrayed on U.S. coins.
WASHINGTON, JEFFERSON, Lincoln, Jackson, Grant, McKinley, Cleveland, Madison, and Wilson are portrayed on U.S. paper currency.
*The
above information provided as courtesy of Borgna Brunner, who derived
from "Facts About the Presidents" by Joseph Nathan Kane as posted on
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/prestrivia1.html
1. George
Washington: No formal education. The only president elected
unanimously. He received all 69 electoral votes. At his inauguration,
Washington had only one tooth. At various times he wore dentures made
of human teeth, animal teeth, ivory or even lead. Never wood. In
addition to the nation's capital and the state, 31 counties and 17
towns are named in his honor. He stood 6 feet and 2 inches tall,
weighed 200 pounds and wore size 13 shoes. He is the only president who
didn't live in Washington, D.C. during his presidency. During his
presidency the Judiciary Act of 1789 established the federal court
system, the Bank Act of 1791 established a nation wide banking system,
the Bill of Rights became law on December 15, 1791.
2. John
Adams: Graduated Harvard College (1755). Adams was the
great-great-grandson of John and Priscilla Alden, pilgrims who landed
at Plymouth Rock in 1620. In 1800 the U.S. capital moved from
Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. Adams and Jefferson were the only
presidents to sign the Declaration of Independence, and they both died
on its 50th anniversary, July 4, 1826. Vice-President under Washington.
Older that any other president at his death, he lived 90 years, 247
days.
3. Thomas Jefferson: Graduated College of William and Mary
(1762) Secretary of State under Washington, Vice-President under Adams.
Jefferson was the first president to shake hands with guests.
Previously people bowed to Presidents. Jefferson's library of 6,000
books was purchased for $ 23.950 and formed the basis of the Library of
Congress. Principal author of the Declaration of Independence. First
president to take his oath in Washington, D.C. Jefferson and Adams were
the only presidents to sign the Declaration of Independence, and they
both died on its 50th anniversary, July 4, 1826. He designed his own
tombstone and wrote his own epitaph, omitting the fact that he was
President of the United States.
4. James Madison: Graduated
College of New Jersey (now Princeton University; 1771) Secretary of
State under Jefferson. Citing continued attacks on its ships, the
United States declared war on Britain in June 1812. British troops
burned the White House 1814. First president tho had prior service as a
congressman. First president to wear trousers rather than knee
breeches. He stood 5 feet 4 inches, the shortest president.
5.
James Monroe: Graduated College of William and Mary (1776) Secretary of
State under Madison. Secretary of Was under Madison. Convention of 1818
fixed the boundary between the U.S. and British North America. In 1819
purchased Florida from Spain for the cancellation of $ 5 million in
debts. On December 2, 1923 proclaimed the Monroe Doctrine, warning
European powers not to interfere in U.S. affairs. First president to
ride on a steamboat. First U.S. Senator to become president. First
inaugural to be held outdoors. His daughter was the first to be married
in the White House. The U.S. Marine ban played at his second inaugural
and every inauguration since.
6. John Quincy Adams: Graduated
Harvard College (1787) Secretary of State under Monroe. Adams swam nude
(weather permitting) in the Potomac River every day. First elected
president not to receive either the most electoral college votes or
popular votes. Only son of a president to become a president. Only
president elected to the House after his presidency. He named one of
his sons George Washington.
7. Andrew Jackson: No formal
education. Held no other political office. Placed 2,000 of his
political supporters in government jobs and established a "kitchen
cabinet" of informal advisors. In 1835 he made the final installment of
national debt making Jackson the only president of a debt free United
States. He was the only president to serve in both the Revolutionary
War and the War of 1812. He was the only president to have been a
prisoner of war. He was the first president to have been born in a log
cabin. First president to ride a railroad train. Wounded in a duel at
the age of 39, Jackson carried the bullet, lodged near his heart, to
his grave.
8. Martin Van Buren: Graduated Kinderhook Academy
(1796) Secretary of State under Jackson. Vice President under Jackson.
First president born in the United States of America. He and his wife
spoke Dutch at home. He took his four years salary, $ 100,000, in a
lump sum at the end of his term. After serving one term as president,
he made three unsuccessful bids for reelection.
9. William Henry
Harrison: Attended Hampden-Sydney College. Harrison gave the longest
inaugural address - one hour 45 minutes. Only president who studied to
become a doctor. His immediate job before becoming president was clerk
of Hamilton County (Ohio) court. First president to die in office.
Inaugurated on March 4, 1841, contracted pneumonia in late March, died
in the White House on April 4. Served 30 days.
10. John Tyler:
Graduated College of William and Mary (1807). Vice President under
Harrison. First vice president to assume office after the death of a
president. He was a Whig, but the Whig party disowned him after he
vetoed banking bills supported by the Whigs. In January 1843, the Whigs
introduced impeachment resolutions in the House, but the measures were
defeated. Tyler served as president without being a member of any
political party. He was a grand-uncle of Harry S Truman.
11.
James Knox Polk: Graduated University of North Carolina (1818). Greatly
expanded the western U.S. in 1848 through a treaty with Mexico ending a
two year war and giving the U.S. control over most of present-day
Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
Before the advent of anesthetics and antiseptic practices, Polk
survived a gallstone operation at age 17.
12. Zachary Taylor: No
formal education. Taylor served in the regular Army for 40 years and
never voted, never belonged to a political party nor took any interest
in politics until he ran for president at age 62. He was elected in the
first national election held on the same day in all states (November 7,
1848). He pastured his old Army horse, Whitey, on the White House lawn
and visitors would take horse hairs as souvenirs. Died in office of
gastroenteritis on July 9, 1850.
13. Millard Fillmore: No formal
education. Vice President under Taylor. Fillmore did not meet Taylor
until after they were elected. When he moved into the White House, it
didn't have a Bible. He and his wife, Abigail, installed the first
library. He installed the first bathtub and kitchen stove in the White
House. Fillmore couldn't not read Latin and refused an honorary degree
from Oxford University, saying a person shouldn't accept a degree he
couldn't read.
14. Franklin Pierce: Graduated Bowdoin College
(1824). In 1853 the Gadsden Purchase settled boundary disputes with
Mexico. In 1854 the Kansas Nebraska Act increased the conflict between
pro and anti slavery settlers and required the introduction of federal
troops into Kansas in an effort to end the fighting. Because of
religious considerations Pierce affirmed rather than swore the
Presidential Oath of Office. He gave his inaugural address from memory,
without the aid of notes. He installed the first central heating system
in the White House.
15. James Buchanan: Graduated Dickinson
College (1809). Secretary of State under Polk. In 1857 Buchanan
recommended a pro-slavery Kansas constitution. The constitution was
rejected and Buchanan lost northern support. 1858 northern candidates
opposing Buchanan won a majority in both houses of Congress. 1859 John
Brown was seized at Harpers Ferry and hanged for his attempt to start a
slave revolt. February 4, 1861 seven southern states formed the
Confederacy. By the time Buchanan was 30 years old, he had amassed a
fortune of $ 300,000. He was never married, so the duties of White
House hostess were performed by his niece, Harriet Lane. One of his
eyes was nearsighted and the other farsighted. As a result he always
cocked his head to the left. Buchanan tired of being president and
refused to run for reelection.
16. Abraham Lincoln: No formal
education. On April 12, 1861 Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in
Charleston, South Carolina setting off the Civil War. Lincoln quickly
mobilized the Union by executive order. January 1, 1863 he formally
issued the Emancipation Proclamation. On November 19, of that same year
he delivered the Gettysburg Address. On April 9, 1865 Generals Robert
E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant signed term of Confederate surrender at
Appomattox, Virginia. Five days later, on April 14, 1865 Lincoln went
to Ford's Theater to watch "Our American Cousin" and was shot by actor
John Wilkes Booth. He died the next morning at Petersen's Boarding
House. Lincoln was the first president to die by assassination. At 6
feet 4 inches he was the tallest president. Lincoln's wife, Mary Todd,
had a brother, half-brothers and brothers-in-law who fought in the
Confederate Army. Lincoln was the only president to receive a patent,
for a device for lifting boats over shoals. He was the first president
to wear a beard. His son Robert Todd Lincoln, was in Washington, D.C.
when Lincoln was killed, was also on the scene when President Garfield
was shot in 1881, and President McKinley was assassinated in 1901. A
poll of historians named Lincoln the nation's greatest president.
Washington was second.
17. Andrew Johnson: No formal education.
Vice President under Lincoln. On march 29, 1865 issued Amnesty
Proclamation, pardoning all Confederates except those with property in
excess of $ 20,000 and certain Confederate leaders. On December 6, 1865
the 13th amendment, officially abolishing slavery, was ratified. On
march 30, 1867 the U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia for $ 7.2 million.
Johnson was married at a younger age than any other president. He was
18 on May 5, 1827 and Eliza McCardle was 16. He is the only president
to serve in the Senate after his presidency. He was host to the first
Queen to first the White house. Queen Emma of Hawaii. Johnson was the
only president to be impeached by the House, but on March 26, 1868 was
acquitted by the Senate by a one-vote margin. Has was buried beneath a
willow tree he planted himself with a shoot taken from a tree at
Napoleon's tomb.
18. Ulysses Simpson Grant: Graduated U.S.
Military Academy West Point, New York. Witness to some of the bloodiest
battles in history, Grant could not stomach the sight of animal blood.
Rare steak nauseated him. While president, he was arrested for driving
his horse too fast and was fined $ 20. Grant said he knew only two
songs. "One was Yankee Doodle and the other wasn't." He smoked 20
cigars ad, which probably caused the throat cancer that resulted in his
death.
19. Rutherford Birchard Hayes: Graduated Kenyon College
(1842) and Harvard Law School (1845). On September 8, 1880 Hayes
arrived in San Francisco to become the first president to visit the
West Coast. He was the first president to graduate from law school.
Mrs. Hayes, Lucy Ware Webb, was known as "Lemonade Lucy" because she
refused to serve alcohol in the White House. The first telephone was
installed in the White House by Alexander Graham Bell himself. The
first Easter egg roll on the White House lawn was conducted by Hayes
and his wife. He kept his campaign pledge and refused to run for a
second term.
20. James Abram Garfield: Graduated Williams
College (1856). Only 131 days after taking office, on July 12, 1881,
while entering a Washington, D.C. railroad station, he was shot by
Charles J. Guiteau, a disappointed office-seeker in Garfield's new
administration. Garfield was the first left-handed president. He was
the last of seven presidents born in a log cabin. On election day,
November 2, 1880, he was at the same time, a member of the House,
Senator-elect and President-elect. After Garfield's shooting, repeated
probing for the bullet with non-sterile instruments resulted in blood
poisoning which eventually killed him on September 19, 1881.
21.
Chester Alan Arthur: Graduated Union College (1848). Vice President
under Garfield. Arthur's wife, Ellen Lewis Herndon, died before he
became president, so Arthur's sister, Mary Arthur McElroy, served as
White House hostess. Arthur enjoyed walking at night and seldom went to
bed before 2 A.M. He had 24 wagon loads of old furniture and junk
removed from the White House before moving in. A man-about-town, he
entertained lavishly and often, and enjoyed going to nightclubs. Arthur
told a temperance group that called on him at the White House, "I may
be President of the United States, but my private life is my own damn
business." Arthur destroyed all of his personal papers before his death.
22.
Grover Cleveland: No formal education. Dedicated the Statue of Liberty
on October 28, 1886. Cleveland is the only president to serve two
non-consecutive terms. He lost the 1888 election for second term to
Benjamin Harrison, despite garnering a larger popular vote. While
sheriff of Erie County, New York, Cleveland was also the public
executioner and personally hanged two murderers. Since Cleveland was
the sole supporter of his family during the Civil War, he paid a
substitute to take his place. He vetoed 414 bill in his first term,
more that double the 204 vetoes cast by all previous presidents. The
only president's child born in the White House, was Cleveland's
daughter, Esther.
23. Benjamin Harrison: Graduated Miami
University, Oxford, Ohio (1852). Harrison grew up in a family of 13
children. He was the second president whose wife died while he was in
office. An excellent extemporaneous speaker, he once made 140
completely different speeches in 30 days. When the Harrisons moved into
the White House, it was in such a dilapidated state that plans were
made to build a new mansion elsewhere in Washington. His last daughter,
Elizabeth, was younger than his four grandchildren. Harrison was
defeated for reelection by Grover Cleveland. Because of his wife's
illness, he did not campaign.
24. Grover Cleveland: No formal
education. President March 4, 1885 to March 3, 1889. Cleveland is the
only president to serve two non-consecutive terms. See notes under
22ndPresident. Ran for an unprecedented 3rd term but lost the
Democratic presidential nomination to Williams Jennings Bryan.
25.
William McKinley: Attended Allegheny College. On February 15 1898, the
U.S. battleship Maine was blown up in Havana harbor. On April 25, the
U.S. declared war on Spain. May 1, Admiral George Dewey led a major
U.S. victory over Spain in the Battle of Manila Bay. February 6, 1899,
the Treaty of Paris, ending the war was approved by the U.S. Senate.
Spain ceded the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam and agreed to the
independence of Cuba. September 6, 1901 McKinley was shot twice in the
chest at point blank range by Leon Czolgosz while visiting the
Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. He died on September 14
whispering his favorite hymn "Nearer my God to Thee." McKinley's wife,
Ida, was an epileptic and suffered a seizure during the second
inaugural ball. He was the first president to use the telephone while
campaigning He is thought to hold the record for presidential
handshaking - 2,500 per hour. McKinley exercised very little. Had he
been in better shape, his doctors said he might have survived his
assassin's bullets.
26. Theodore Roosevelt: Graduated Harvard
College (1880) Vice President under McKinley. On November 18, 1903 the
U. S. and Panama signed a treaty for a canal under U. S. sovereignty.
Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for arbitrating the end of the
Russo-Jananese War. As a child, Roosevelt suffered asthma attacks and
was too sickly to attend school. At 42, Roosevelt was the youngest
president. The teddy bear is named for him. He lost the sight in one
eye while boxing in the White House. He had a photographic memory. He
could read a page in the time it took anyone else to read a sentence.
He was the first president to travel outside the U.S. - Panama.
Roosevelt craved attention. It was said that he wanted to be the bride
at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral.
27. William
Howard Taft: Graduated Yale College (1878); Cincinnati Law School
(1880). Secretary of War under Roosevelt. February 3, 1913 the 16th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution authorizing income taxes was
ratified. It states simply: "The Congress shall have power to lay and
collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without
apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any
census or enumeration." Taft is the only person to serve as both
President and Chief Justice (1921-1930) of the U.S. He inaugurated the
custom of the president throwing out the first ball to start the
baseball season. Mrs. Taft was responsible for the planting of the
Japanese cherry trees in Washington. Taft, who weighed 332 pounds, got
stuck in the White House bathtub the first time he used it. A larger
one was ordered. The Taft's owned the last presidential cow and the
first White House automobile.
28. Woodrow Wilson: Graduated
College of New Jersey (now Princeton University; 1879) Held no other
political office. On May 7, 1915 more than 100 Americans were killed as
a German submarine torpedoed the British liner "Lusitania". The U. S.
purchased the Virgin Islands from Denmark. April 6, 1917, the United
States declared war on Germany. November 11, 1918 an armistice ending
World War I is signed. January 16, 1919 the 18th Amendment
"Prohibition" was ratified. August 18, 1920 the 19th Amendment, giving
women the right to vote, was ratified. Wilson is the only president to
earn a Ph.D. degree. In 1913 he held the first regular presidential
press conference. Afterwards, he met the press twice a week. His second
wife, Edith, was a great-granddaughter of Pocahontas, seven time
removed. An avid golfer, Wilson used black golf balls when playing in
the snow. He is the only president buried in Washington, D.C.
29.
Warren Gamaliel Harding: Graduated Ohio Central College (1882). On July
2, 1921 the president signed a joint congressional resolution of peace
with Germany, Austria and Hungary. The treaties were singed in August.
After Harding's death, several of his high officials were linked to the
"Teapot Dome" and other scandals. He was the first newspaper publisher
to be elected president. Both of Harding's parents were doctors. He was
the first president to own a radio. While president, Harding played
golf, poker twice a week, followed baseball and boxing, and sneaked off
to burlesque shows.
30. Calvin Coolidge: Graduated Amherst
College (1895) Vice President under Harding. Sent U.S. Marines to
Nicaragua in 1925 after the outbreak of civil war. Despite strong party
support, Coolidge announced on August 2, 1927, "I do not choose to run
for president in 1928." Charles Lindbergh completed the thirst
transatlantic flight in 1927. While governor of Massachusetts, Coolidge
was once punched in the eye by the mayor of Boston. He was the only
president sworn into office by his father, a justice of the peace and
notary public. Coolidge averaged nine hours of sleep a night and took
afternoon naps of from two to four hours. His wife recounted that a
young woman sitting next to Coolidge at a dinner party confided to him
she had bet she could get at least three words of conversation from
him. Without looking at her he quietly retorted, "You lose."
31.
Herbert Clark Hoover: Graduated Stanford University (1895). Secretary
of Commerce under Harding, Secretary of Commerce under Coolidge. The
New York Stock Market crashed on October 29, 1929, marking the
beginning of a severe economic depression that dominated the Hoover
presidency. The School of Engineering and Applied Science of Columbia
University in 1964, Herbert Hoover and Thomas Edison were named the two
greatest engineers in U. S. History. He was the youngest member of
Stanford University's first graduating class. During their first three
years in the White House, the Hoovers dined alone only three times,
each time on their wedding anniversary. Hoover was the first president
to donate his salary to charity. One of the most honored presidents,
Hoover received 84 honourary degrees, 78 medals and awards, and the
keys to dozens of cities.
3 2. Franklin Delano Roosevelt:
Graduated Harvard College (1903) Attended Columbia Law School. In 1933
Roosevelt launched the "New Deal" relief measures, revived the banking
industry, and delivered the first of 30 "Fireside Chats". In December,
the 21st Amendment, ending Prohibition, was ratified. In 1935 the
Social Security Act was passed and the Works Progress Administration
(WPA) was passed. In 1936 he was reelected in a landslide over Alfred
M. Landon. In 1939 Germany overran Poland and war was declared in
Europe. In 1949 reelected to an unprecedented third term. December 7,
1941 Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Congress
declared war against Japan the next day. June 6, 1944, D-Day, Allied
forces landed on the Normandy coast of France. Reelected to an
unprecedented fourth term. Roosevelt was the vice presidential
candidate on James M. Cox's ticket in 1920. He was the first defeated
vice presidential candidate to be elected president. He was related by
blood or marriage to 11 former presidents. In 1921, at the age of 39,
Roosevelt contracted polio which left him without the use of his legs.
A stamp collector, he received the first sheet of every new
commemorative issue. In, 1939, he became the first president to apear
on television. Died in office on April 12, 1945.
33. Harry S
Truman: Attended University of Kansas City Law School, Vice President
under Roosevelt. May 7, 1945 Germany surrendered ending World War II in
Europe. June 19 he flew to Washington State and became the first
president to use air travel within the country. June 26, 1945 the
United Nations Charter was signed. August 6, 1945 the atomic bomb was
dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. The second atomic bomb was dropped August
9 on Nagasaki. August 14, announced the surrender of Japan. On January
17, 1946 Truman proposed a 182 cent per hour wage increase to settle
the labor dispute between U.S. Steel and the United Steel Workers
union. A walkout was not prevented but it, and most labor disputes in
1946 were settled on that basis. On July 15, he signed a bill
authorizing loan of $3.75 billion to Great Britain. November 21, 1946
he ordered contempt proceedings against John L. Lewis when the mine
leader, defying a government injunction, called members of the United
Mine Workers union out on strike. On December 5 Lewis sent the miners
back to work after a federal district court had fined him $10 thousand
and the union $3.5 million. March 21, 1947 ordered loyalty
investigation of all federal government employees. February 2, 1948 he
sent a message to Congress asking for civil rights legislation to
secure the rights of the country's minority groups. May 10, 1948 he
ordered government operation of the railroads by the army to forestall
a nationwide railroad strike. May 14, 1948 he recognized new state of
Israel. November 2, 1948 won reelection over Thomas E. Dewey in what
was regarded as a major political upset. September 3, 1949 he announced
that there was evidence of a Russian atomic explosion.. January 31,
1950 He revealed that he had ordered the Atomic Energy Commission to
develop the hydrogen bomb. June 26, 1950 Truman ordered U.S. air and
sea forces to aid South Korean Troops in resisting the Communist forces
of North Korea which had invaded South Korea the day before. June 30 he
announced that he had ordered American ground forces in Japan to Korea
and the navy to blockade the Korean coast. General Douglas MacArthur,
the American commander in Japan, was put in charge of all U.N. troops
in the area, which included forces from other nations. August 25 Truman
ordered seizure of the railroads by the government on August 27 to
forestall a nationwide strike. November 1 Truman escaped attempted
assassination by two Puerto Rican nationalists. December 16 Truman
proclaimed a state of national emergency following entry of Communist
China into the Korean conflict on November 6, after U.N. forces had
taken over most of North Korea. April 11, 1951 Truman relieved General
Douglas MacArthur of all posts as commander of American and U.N. forces
in the Far East for making statements critical of the government's
military and foreign policies in that area. MacArthur replaced by Lt.
Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway. March 29, 1952 he announced at
Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner decision not to run for reelection. April
8, during the Korean action, Truman signed executive order direction
Secretary of Commerce Charles Sawyer to seize steel mills to prevent
strike of steel workers. On June 2, seizure was declared
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in a six to three decision. June
14 he laid keel of the USS Nautilus, world's first atomic powered
submarine, at Groton, Connecticut. January 20, 1953 Truman attended
inauguration of President Eisenhower and then left by train for
Independence, Missouri. The middle initial "S" in Truman's name is not
an abbreviation and has no significance. At 60 years old, he was the
oldest vice president to succeed to the presidency. In recognition of
Truman's contribution to medical insurance, President Johnson presented
the first two Medicare cards to Mr. and Mrs. Truman. Truman's mother, a
Confederate sympathizer, refused to sleep in Lincoln's bed during a
White House visit.
34. Dwight David Eisenhower: Graduated U.S.
Military Academy, West Point New York. Held no other political office.
In 1953 Eisenhower established the Department of Health, Education and
Welfare. The Korean War ended and he nominated Earl Warren as chief
justice of the Supreme Court. In 1956 Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal
and the president refused to join Britain, France and Israel in an
invasion of Egypt. Also, in 1956 he denounced the USSR for crushing a
Hungarian uprising. In 1957, he sent federal troops to Little Rock,
Arkansas to ensure the integration of Central High School. On May 1,
1956, the USSR downed a U.S. U-2 reconnaissance flight over Soviet
territory which was flown by Francis Gary Powers, a civilian. This
resulted in the collapse of a summit conference with Premier Nikita
Khrushchev. Dwight David Eisenhower was born David Dwight Eisenhower.
He was the last president born in the 19th century. He was the only
president to serve in both World Wars. A skilled chef, he was famous
for his vegetable soup, steaks, and cornmeal pancakes. He was the first
president licensed to fly an airplane.
35. John Fitzgerald
Kennedy: Graduated Harvard College (1940). In 1961 Kennedy established
the Peace Corps. On April 17, 1961 a force of anti-Castro Cubans,
trained by the Central Intelligence Agency, staged an unsuccessful
attempt to establish a beachhead at the Bay of Pigs, Cuba. In August,
East Germany in an attempt to curtail defections from East To West,
constructed a wall separating East and West Berlin. On February 20,
1962 Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr. became the first American to orbit the
earth. In October, 1962 after U.S. reconnaissance flights revealed that
Soviet offensive missiles were being installed in Cuba, the United
States established a naval "quarantine" around Cuba. This period is
generally considered the closest the world has ever come to nuclear
war. On October 28, after the U.S. agreed to withdraw the quarantine
and never to invade Cuba, the Soviets withdrew their missiles. On
August 28, 1963 more than 200,000 persons staged a march in Washington,
D.C. and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have A
Dream" speech. South Vietnam President Ngo Dinh Diem was overthrown on
November 1. On November 22, 1963, Kennedy was killed by an assassin,
Lee Harvey Oswald, as his motorcade wound through Dallas, Texas.
Kennedy, at 43 years old, was the youngest man elected president; and
at 46 years old, he was the youngest to die. Kennedy was the only
president to win a Pulitzer Prize, for his biography "Profiles in
Courage". He was the first president to have served in the U.S. Navy.
He was the only president to appoint his brother to a cabinet post.
36.
Lyndon Baines Johnson: Graduated Southwest Texas State Teachers College
(1930). Vice President under Kennedy. In 1965 he signed an $ 11.5
billion tax-reduction bill and a major civil-right bill which was
proposed and initiated under the Kennedy administration. Proclaimed a
"War on Poverty". On February 7, 1965 ordered the bombing of targets in
North Vietnam and began escalating U.S. troop strength in Indochina. In
April, he ordered U.S. troops into the Dominican Republic to end a
rebellion. Also in 1965 Johnson signed legislation establishing
Medicare and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 1967
he nominated Thurgood Marshall as an associate justice to the Supreme
Court. In 1968 Johnson withdrew his candidacy for the presidential race
and ordered a reduction in the bombing of North Vietnam.Johnson and his
wife, Claudia "Lady Bird" Alta Taylor, were married with a $ 2.50
wedding ring bought at Sears Roebuck. He was the only president to take
the oath of office from a female official, Judge Sarah T. Hughes.
Johnson rejected his official portrait painting, saying it was the
ugliest thing he ever saw. He was the first incumbent president to meet
with a pope.
37. Richard Milhous Nixon: Graduated Whittier
College (1934) and Duke University Law School (1937). Vice President
under Eisenhower. July 20, 1969 Neil A. Armstrong became the first man
to walk on the moon. April 30, 1970 he announced that U.S. troops were
being sent into Cambodia to destroy enemy sanctuaries. Nixon visited
China in February of 1972 becoming the first president to visit a
country not recognized by the U. S. June 17, 1972, five men were
arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee
headquarters located at the Watergate Hotel. The Vietnam cease-fire
agreement was signed January 1973. October 10, 1973 Vice President
Spiro T. Agnew resigned and pleaded guilty to one count of income tax
evasion and Nixon appointed Gerald R. Ford to replace him. August 9,
1974, effective at noon, Nixon resigned as president, becoming the
first president to ever voluntarily leave office. This was a direct
result of the scandal created by attempting to cover up the "Watergate
Affair".
38. Gerald Rudolph Ford: Graduated University of
Michigan (1935) and Yale University Law School (1941). Vice President
under Nixon. Appointed Nelson A. Rockefeller as vice president. Granted
Richard M. Nixon an "absolute pardon" for all federal crimes he may
have committed or taken part in while president. He was born Leslie
Lynch King, Jr. Both Ford and his wife, Elizabeth "Betty" Bloomer
Warren, had been models before their marriage. Running for Congress in
1948, Ford campaigned on his wedding day. He was the first president to
release to the public a full report of his medical checkup. Ford was
the only president whose two assassination attempts against him were
made by women. Ford was the first president not elected by the people
to become president. He became vice president when Agnew resigned, and
president when Nixon resigned. He was defeated by Jimmy Carter in his
bid to win a full term.
39. James Earl Carter, Jr.: Graduated
U.S. Naval Academy (1946). September 1977, signed treaties providing
for the termination of U.S. operation of the Panama Canal in 1999 and
for the permanent neutralization of the canal. In 1978 Carter signed
the "Framework of Peace in the Middle East and the "Framework for the
Conclusion of a Peace Treaty Between Egypt and Israel" following eleven
days of negotiations at Camp David with Israeli Prime Minister Menahem
Begin and Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat. The treaty was signed
March 26, 1979. In December 1978, China and the U.S. agreed to
establish diplomatic relations. In 1979 Carter signed an bill creating
the Department of Education. Reached Strategic Arms Limitation
Agreement with President Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union.
Protesting the U.S. support of the Shah, radical Iranian student seized
a group of American diplomats and embassy officials in Tehran in
November. The "hostage crisis" remained with Carter for the remainder
of his term. Carter was the first president born in a hospital. He was
the first president graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. He was the
first president sworn in using his nickname, "Jimmy".
40. Ronald
Wilson Reagan: Graduated Eureka College (1932). Moments after Regan was
inaugurated on January 20, 1981, 52 Americans held hostage in Iran
since November 1979 were released. September 22 1981 Sandra Day
O'Connor is confirmed 91-8 as an associate justice of the Supreme
Court. She was the first female to serve on the Supreme Court. While
participating in a multinational peacekeeping force in Lebanon on
October 23, 1983, 241 U.S. Servicemen were killed in a terrorist
attack. Later on October 25, U.S. troops invaded the Caribbean island
of Grenada in an effort to restore order and democracy. November 6,
1984 winning 49 states, Reagan was reelected in a landslide over Walter
Mondale. January 28, 1986, seven astronauts lost their lives on the
space shuttle Challenger. April 5, 1986 two American servicemen lose
their lives in a terrorist bombing of the La Belle Discotheque in
Berlin. April 14 and 15 in retaliation for the disco bombing, American
warplanes attack "terrorist related targets" in Libya. November 25, the
Iran-Contra Affair becomes public. Ronald Reagan was 77 years old when
he left office, making him the oldest president. He was the first
president to have been divorced. For those of you who would like to
know more about this man, here is a link that will take you to a Ronald
Reagan Home Page.
http://www.dnaco.net/~bkottman/reagan.html
41.
George Herbert Walker Bush: Graduated Yale University (1948) March 24,
1989 the tanker Exxon Valdez leaks history's largest oil spill, 11.3
million gallons, in Alaska. December 20 Bush authorizes the use of U.S.
troops to remove Panama's General Manuel Noriega. Noriega avoids
capture and on December 24 seeks asylum in the Vatican embassy.
Eventually surrenders to U.S. authorities on January 3, 1990. August 2,
1990 Iraq, under President Saddam Hussein, invades Kuwait. August 7,
Operation Desert Shield begins. October 2, the U.S. Senate confirms
90-9, David H. Souter as Supreme Court Justice. October 3, East and
West Germany merge to become one Germany. January 12, 1991 Congress
authorizes President Bush to wage war against Iraq. January 16, Desert
Storm begins. February 24, the ground assault against Iraq begins.
February 28, a cease fire is granted to Iraq and the "Mother Of All
Wars" is ended. April 1, the Warsaw Pact is dissolved an on April 9,
Georgia SSR votes to secede from the USSR and the collapse of the
Soviet Union begins. August 19, Soviet hardliners stage a coup attempt
against Mikhail Gorbachev. The coup is crushed, but Gorbachev resigns
as head of the Communist Party on August 24. September 6, the USSR
recognizes the independence of the three Baltic republics. October 15,
after a bitter partisan debate, Clarence Thomas is confirmed by a 52-48
vote as Supreme Court Justice. December 8, Russia, Byelorussia and
Ukraine form The Commonwealth of Independent States. November 3, 1992
Bush is defeated in his bid for reelection. When Bush received his
military commission in 1943, he became, at age 19, the youngest pilot
in the Navy. Bush is related to Benedict Arnold, Marilyn Monroe,
Winston Churchill, Presidents Franklin Pierce, Abraham Lincoln,
Theodore Roosevelt and Gerald Ford.
42. William Jefferson
Clinton: Graduated Georgetown University (1968), Yale University Law
School (1973) August 10, 1993 Ruth Bader Ginsberg is confirmed 96-3 as
Supreme Court Justice. September 30, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, President
of Haiti is overthrown in a military coup. September 19, 20, 1994 U.S.
forces invade Haiti. October 15, Aristide is returned to office.
October 1994 congress fails to enact Clinton's controversial health
care program which was a strong priority during the election campaign.
November 8, 1994 Republicans gain control of both houses of congress
for the first time since 1954. November 17, U.S. Congress votes for the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ). July 1, 1997 China
regains sovereignty of Hong Kong. In 1978 when Clinton was elected
governor of Arkansas, he was at the time, age 32 and the youngest
governor in the U.S. In high school, Clinton played saxophone in a jazz
trio. The three musicians wore dark glasses on stage and they called
themselves "Three Blind Mice"
43. George W. Bush: "W" Daddy Bush,
Jr.; Skulls: Membership by Legacy only; Should have had Larry the Cable
Guy as VP, but Larry would have showed him up. Chenyne Shot someone as
an accident and blanked out his house on GoogleEarth. Tough talk'n
Prezedent. Oddity that we had eight years, said more about the lack of
competition.
44. John McCain.
Presidential birthplaces (Presidents born before the USA became a country:
* George Washington, * John Adams, * Thomas Jefferson, *
James Madison, * James Monroe, * John Quincy Adams,
* Andrew Jackson, * William Henry Harrison
Presidents Born in Arizona * John McCain
Presidents born in Arkansas * Bill Clinton
Presidents born in California * Richard Nixon
Presidents born in the Carolinas * Andrew Jackson (historians are not sure whether he was born in North or South Carolina)
* James Polk (North Carolina), * Andrew Johnson (North Carolina)
Presidents born in Connecticut * George W. Bush
Presidents born in Georgia * Jimmy Carter
Presidents born in Illinois * Ronald Reagan
Presidents born in Iowa * Herbert Hoover
Presidents born in Kentucky * Abraham Lincoln
Presidents born in Massachusetts * John Adams. * John Quincy Adams. * John Kennedy. * George Bush
Presidents born in Missouri * Harry Truman
Presidents born in Nebraska * Gerald Ford
Presidents born in New Hampshire * Franklin Pierce
Presidents born in New Jersey * Grover Cleveland
Presidents born in New York * Martin Van Buren * Millard Fillmore * Theodore Roosevelt * Franklin Roosevelt
Presidents
born in Ohio * Ulysses Grant * Rutherford Hayes * James
Garfield * Benjamin Harrison * William McKinley
* William Taft * Warren Harding
Presidents born in Pennsylvania * James Buchanan
Presidents born in Texas * Dwight Eisenhower * Lyndon Johnson
Presidents born in Vermont * Chester Arthur * Calvin Coolidge
Presidents born in Virginia * George Washington * Thomas Jefferson * James Madison * James Monroe
* William Henry Harrison * John Tyler * Zachary Taylor * Woodrow Wilson
Presidential religions/Faith/Denominations
Baptist presidents * Warren Harding * Harry Truman * Jimmy Carter * Bill Clinton (Southern Baptist)
Congregationalist presidents * Calvin Coolidge
Deist presidents * Thomas Jefferson
Presidents belonging to Disciples of Christ * James Garfield * Lyndon Johnson * Ronald Reagan
Dutch Reformed presidents * Martin Van Buren * Theodore Roosevelt
Episcopalian
presidents * George Washington * James Madison * James
Monroe * William Henry Harrison * John Tyler
* Zachary Taylor * Franklin Pierce * Chester Arthur * Franklin Roosevelt * Gerald Ford * George Bush
Methodist presidents * James Polk (originally Presbyterian) * Ulysses Grant * William McKinley * George W. Bush
Presbyterian presidents * Andrew Jackson * James Polk (later Methodist) * James Buchanan
* Rutherford Hayes (also attended Episcopal and Methodist services) * Grover Cleveland * Benjamin Harrison
* Woodrow Wilson * Dwight Eisenhower
Quaker presidents * Herbert Hoover * Richard Nixon
Roman Catholic presidents * John Kennedy
Unitarian presidents * John Adams * John Quincy Adams * Millard Fillmore * William Taft
Presidents without church affiliation * Abraham Lincoln * Andrew Johnson
Presidential Military Experience
Presidents who served in wars
* George Washington - Commander in Chief of Continental Army during the American Revolution.
* James Monroe - served in American Revolution
* Andrew Jackson - American Revolution, War of 1812, First Seminole War
* William Henry Harrison - Indian wars in the NW territory, War of 1812
* John Tyler - War of 1812
* Zachary Taylor - War of 1812, Black Hawk, Second Seminole, and Mexican wars
* Franklin Pierce - Mexican War
* James Buchanan - War of 1812
* Abraham Lincoln - Black Hawk War
* Andrew Johnson - Civil War
* Ulysses Grant - Mexican War, Civil War
* Rutherford Hayes - Civil War
* James Garfield - Civil War
* Chester Arthur - Civil War
* Benjamin Harrison - Civil War
* William McKinley - Civil War
* Theodore Roosevelt - Spanish-American War
* Harry Truman - WWI
* Dwight Eisenhower - WWII General
* John Kennedy - WWII
* Lyndon Johnson - WWII
* Richard Nixon - WWII
* Gerald Ford - WWII
* George Bush - WWII
Presidents who were in the military but who saw no action
* James Madison
* James Polk
* Millard Fillmore
* Jimmy Carter
* Ronald Reagan - kept out of combat due to bad eyesight
* George W. Bush
Presidents with no military experience
* John Adams
* Thomas Jefferson
* John Quincy Adams
* Martin Van Buren
* Grover Cleveland
* William Taft
* Woodrow Wilson
* Warren Harding
* Calvin Coolidge
* Herbert Hoover
* Franklin Roosevelt
* Bill Clinton
Presidents during wartime
* George Washington: war with Native Americans in Ohio
* Thomas Jefferson: Tripolitan War, 1800-1805, against the Barbary pirates
* James Madison - War of 1812, 1812-1814, against the British
* James Monroe - First Seminole War, 1817-1818
* Andrew Jackson - Black Hawk War, 1832
* Martin Van Buren - Aroostook War, 1839; Second Seminole War - ended 1842
* William Henry Harrison - Second Seminole War - ended 1842
* John Tyler - Second Seminole War - ended 1842
* James Polk - Mexican War
* James Buchanan - beginning of the Civil War
* Abraham Lincoln - Civil War, 1861-1865
* William McKinley - Spanish-American War, 1898; Boxer Rebellion, 1899-1900
* Woodrow Wilson - WWI, 1914-1918
* Warren Harding - formally concluded WWI
* Franklin Roosevelt - WWII, 1941-1945
* Harry Truman - conclusion of WWII, Korean War - 1950-1953
* Dwight Eisenhower - conclusion of Korean War
* John Kennedy - Bay of Pigs Invasion, 1961; beginning of Vietnam War
* Lyndon Johnson - Vietnam War, Dominican Republic, 1965
* Richard Nixon - Vietnam War
* Ronald Reagan - Grenada Invasion, 1983
* George Bush - Invasion of Panama, 1989-1990; Persian Gulf War, 1990-1991
* George W. Bush - War against the Taliban, Iraq, 2001 to present.
Presidents who did not preside over war during their terms
* John Adams
* John Quincy Adams
* Zachary Taylor
* Millard Fillmore
* Franklin Pierce
* Andrew Johnson
* Ulysses Grant
* James Garfield
* Chester Arthur
* Grover Cleveland
* Theodore Roosevelt
* William Taft
* Calvin Coolidge
* Herbert Hoover
* Jimmy Carter
Pre-Presidential Careers
Actor * Ronald Reagan
Assistant Secretary of the Navy * Theodore Roosevelt * Franklin Roosevelt
Bank Clerk * Harry Truman
Barker * Richard Nixon
Bookkeeper * Harry Truman
Busboy * Gerald Ford (not his only job of course)
Businessman * Harry Truman * George Bush * George W. Bush
Farmer * Jimmy Carter
Canal Boat Laborer * James Garfield
Career
Military * George Washington * Andrew Jackson *
William Henry Harrison * Zachary Taylor * Ulysses S. Grant
* Dwight Eisenhower
Carpenter * James Garfield
Cattle Rancher * Theodore Roosevelt
C.I.A. Director * George Bush
Circus Roustabout * Ronald Reagan
City Solicitor * Rutherford Hayes - Cincinnati, Ohio
Clothmaker * Millard Fillmore
Coach * Gerald Ford - football, boxing * Ronald Reagan - swimming
Collector of the Port of New York * Chester Arthur
Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
* James Madison - Virginia
* Andrew Jackson - Tennessee
* William Henry Harrison - Northwest Territory, Ohio
* John Tyler - Virginia
* James Polk - Tennessee
* Millard Fillmore - New York
* Franklin Pierce - New Hampshire
* James Buchanan - Pennsylvania
* Abraham Lincoln - Illinois
* Andrew Johnson - Tennessee
* Rutherford Hayes - Ohio
* James Garfield - Ohio
* William McKinley - Ohio
* John F. Kennedy - Massachusetts
* Lyndon Johnson - Texas
* Richard Nixon - California
* Gerald Ford - Michigan
* George Bush - Texas
Construction Worker * Ronald Reagan
Continental Congress Delegate
* George Washington
* John Adams
* James Madison
* James Monroe
Cook * Gerald Ford
Delivery Boy * Martin Van Buren
Deputy Sheriff * Theodore Roosevelt
Diplomat * John Adams
* Thomas Jefferson
* James Monroe
* John Quincy Adams
* William Henry Harrison
* James Buchanan
* George Bush
Dishwasher
* Lyndon Johnson * Gerald Ford * Ronald Reagan (on this
list a lot as he could not obviously keep a job)
Editor
* Grover Cleveland
* Woodrow Wilson
* Warren Harding
Elevator Operator * Lyndon Johnson
Farmer, Farm Boy
* Millard Fillmore
* Abraham Lincoln
* Ulysses S. Grant
* Benjamin Harrison
* Warren Harding
* Calvin Coolidge
* Herbert Hoover
* Harry Truman
* Lyndon Johnson
* Jimmy Carter
Ferryboat Operator * Abraham Lincoln
Fruit Picker * Lyndon Johnson
Geologist * Herbert Hoover
Governor
* Thomas Jefferson - Virginia
* James Monroe - Virginia
* Martin Van Buren - New York
* William Henry Harrison - Indiana Territory
* John Tyler - Virginia
* James Polk - Tennessee
* Andrew Johnson - Tennessee
* Rutherford Hayes - Ohio
* Grover Cleveland - New York
* William McKinley - Ohio
* Theodore Roosevelt - New York
* William Taft - Philippines
* Woodrow Wilson - New Jersey
* Calvin Coolidge - Massachusetts
* Franklin Roosevelt - New York
* Jimmy Carter - Georgia
* Ronald Reagan - California
* Bill Clinton - Arkansas
* George W. Bush - Texas
Horse Handler * Ulysses S. Grant
House Minority Leader * Gerald Ford
Insurance Salesman * Warren Harding
Janitor * James Garfield * Lyndon Johnson
Judge * Andrew Jackson * Harry Truman
Launderer * Herbert Hoover
Lawyer
* John Adams
* Thomas Jefferson
* John Quincy Adams
* Andrew Jackson
* Martin Van Buren
* John Tyler
* James Polk
* Millard Fillmore
* Franklin Pierce
* James Buchanan
* Rutherford Hayes
* Chester Arthur
* Grover Cleveland
* Benjamin Harrison
* William McKinley
* William Taft
* Woodrow Wilson
* Calvin Coolidge
* Franklin Roosevelt
* Richard Nixon
* Gerald Ford
* Bill Clinton
Lieutenant Governor * Warren Harding - Ohio * Calvin Coolidge - Massachusetts
Lifeguard * Ronald Reagan
Mailroom Clerk * Harry Truman
Male Model * Gerald Ford
Mayor
* Andrew Johnson - Greenville, Tennessee
* Grover Cleveland - Buffalo, New York
* Calvin Coolidge - Northampton, Massachusetts
Member of House of Burgesses
* George Washington
* Thomas Jefferson
Mining Engineer * Herbert Hoover
Newsboy * Herbert Hoover
Newspaper Publisher * Warren Harding
Office Boy * Herbert Hoover
Big Oil Money Man * George Bush * George W. Bush
Park Ranger * Gerald Ford
Postal Clerk * William McKinley
Postmaster * Abraham Lincoln
Printer's Devil * Warren Harding * Lyndon Johnson
Professor * Woodrow Wilson * Bill Clinton
Radio Announcer * Ronald Reagan
Railroad Timekeeper * Harry Truman
Reporter, Journalist * Warren Harding * John F. Kennedy
Road Construction Laborer * Warren Harding * Lyndon Johnson
School Principal * Chester Arthur
School Teacher
* Millard Fillmore
* Franklin Pierce
* James Garfield
* Chester Arthur
* Grover Cleveland
* William McKinley
* Warren Harding
* Lyndon Johnson
Secretary of Commerce * Herbert Hoover
Secretary of Northwest Territory * William Henry Harrison
Secretary of State
* Thomas Jefferson
* James Madison
* James Monroe
* John Quincy Adams
* Martin Van Buren
* James Buchanan
Secretary of War
* James Monroe
* William Taft
Senator, U.S.
* James Monroe - Virginia
* John Quincy Adams - Massachusetts
* Andrew Jackson - Tennessee
* Martin Van Buren - New York
* William Henry Harrison - Ohio
* John Tyler - Virginia
* Franklin Pierce - New Hampshire
* James Buchanan - Pennsylvania
* Andrew Johnson - Tennessee
* Benjamin Harrison - Indiana
* Warren Harding - Ohio
* Harry Truman - Missouri
* John F. Kennedy - Massachusetts
* Lyndon Johnson - Texas
* Richard Nixon - California
Sheriff * Grover Cleveland
Shoeshine Boy * Lyndon Johnson
Speaker of the House * James Polk
State Attorney General * Bill Clinton - Arkansas
State Comptroller * Millard Fillmore - New York
State Legislator
* John Adams - Massachusetts
* Thomas Jefferson - Virginia
* James Madison - Virginia
* James Monroe - Virginia
* John Tyler - Virginia
* James Polk - Tennessee
* Millard Fillmore - New York
* Franklin Pierce - New Hampshire
* James Buchanan - Pennsylvania
* Abraham Lincoln - Illinois
* Andrew Johnson - Tennessee
* Theodore Roosevelt - New York
State Senator
* John Quincy Adams - Massachusetts
* Martin Van Buren - New York
* William Henry Harrison - Ohio
* Andrew Johnson - Tennessee
* James Garfield - Ohio
* Warren Harding - Ohio
* Calvin Coolidge - Massachusetts
* Franklin Roosevelt - New York
* Jimmy Carter - Georgia
Store Clerk
* James K. Polk
* Abraham Lincoln
* Grover Cleveland
Surveyor * George Washington
Tailor * Andrew Johnson
Tavern worker * Martin Van Buren
Toymaker * Calvin Coolidge
Trapper * Lyndon Johnson
Trash Collector * Lyndon Johnson
University President * Woodrow Wilson * Dwight Eisenhower
Vice President (See Electoral Lists, below)
Electoral Lists
Presidents who had been vice presidents
* John Adams, under George Washington
* Thomas Jefferson, under John Adams
* Martin Van Buren, under Andrew Jackson
* John Tyler, under William Henry Harrison
* Millard Fillmore, under Zachary Taylor
* Andrew Johnson, under Abraham Lincoln
* Chester Arthur, under James Garfield
* Theodore Roosevelt, under William McKinley
* Calvin Coolidge, under Warren Harding
* Harry Truman, under Franklin Roosevelt
* Lyndon Johnson, under John Kennedy
* Richard Nixon, under Dwight Eisenhower
* Gerald Ford, under Richard Nixon
* George Bush, under Ronald Reagan
Vice-presidents who were later elected president, without having served out the remainder of a predecessor's term
* John Adams
* Thomas Jefferson
* Martin Van Buren
* Richard Nixon
* George Bush
Find more information about Vice-Presidents below.
Presidents who never ran for president
* John Tyler
* Millard Fillmore
* Andrew Johnson
* Chester Arthur
Presidents who were never elected president or vice president * Gerald Ford
Presidents who ran for president, but were never elected * Gerald Ford
Elected presidents whose parties did not nominate them for a second term * Franklin Pierce
Presidents who ran unopposed * George Washington, both terms. * James Monroe, second term.
Vice presidents who became president through death or resignation of their president
* John Tyler - death of William Henry Harrison
* Millard Fillmore - death of Zachary Taylor
* Andrew Johnson - assassination of Abraham Lincoln
* Chester Arthur - assassination of James Garfield
* Theodore Roosevelt - assassination of William McKinley
* Calvin Coolidge - death of Warren Harding
* Harry Truman - death of Franklin Roosevelt
* Lyndon Johnson - assassination of John Kennedy
* Gerald Ford - resignation of Richard Nixon
Find more information about Vice-Presidents below.
Presidents who lost the popular vote but won the electoral college vote
* Rutherford Hayes - Samuel Tilden won the popular vote, and probably
the electoral college vote, but the results were fixed to give Hayes
the majority.
* Benjamin Harrison - incumbent president Grover Cleveland won the popular vote
* George W. Bush - Al Gore won the popular vote. The electoral college
vote was thrown into doubt by peculiarities in Florida's election, and
the election was decided by the Supreme Court when they stopped the
recount.
Presidents who won neither the popular vote nor the electoral college vote, but still ended up as president
* John Quincy Adams - Andrew Jackson had more votes in both categories.
Presidents who were chosen by the House of Representatives because no one had a majority
* Thomas Jefferson (1st term)
* John Quincy Adams
Presidents who defeated incumbents
* Thomas Jefferson - defeated John Adams in 1800.
* Andrew Jackson - defeated John Quincy Adams in 1828,
* William Henry Harrison - defeated Martin Van Buren in 1840.
* Benjamin Harrison - defeated Grover Cleveland in 1888.
* Grover Cleveland - defeated Benjamin Harrison in 1892.
* Woodrow Wilson - defeated Howard Taft in 1912.
* Franklin Roosevelt - defeated Herbert Hoover in 1932.
* Jimmy Carter - defeated Gerald Ford in 1976.
* Ronald Reagan - defeated Jimmy Carter in 1980.
* Bill Clinton - defeated George Bush in 1992.
Presidents elected to two terms
* George Washington: 1789, 1792
* Thomas Jefferson: 1800, 1804
* James Madison: 1808, 1812
* James Monroe: 1816, 1920
* Andrew Jackson: 1828, 1832
* Abraham Lincoln: 1860, 1864
* Ulysses Grant: 1868, 1872
* Grover Cleveland: 1884, 1892
* William McKinley: 1896, 1900
* Woodrow Wilson: 1912, 1916
* Dwight Eisenhower: 1952, 1956
* Richard Nixon: 1968, 1972
* Ronald Reagan: 1980, 1984
* Bill Clinton: 1992, 1996
Presidents elected to one term
* John Adams: 1796
* John Quincy Adams: 1824
* Martin Van Buren: 1836
* William Henry Harrison: 1840
* James Polk, 1844
* Zachary Taylor, 1848
* Franklin Pierce, 1852
* James Buchanan, 1856
* Rutherford Hayes, 1876
* James Garfield, 1880
* Benjamin Harrison, 1888
* Theodore Roosevelt, 1904
* William Taft, 1908
* Warren Harding, 1920
* Calvin Coolidge, 1924
* Herbert Hoover, 1928
* Harry Truman, 1948
* John Kennedy, 1960
* Lyndon Johnson, 1964
* Jimmy Carter, 1976
* George Bush, 1988
Presidents elected to four terms * Franklin Roosevelt: 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944
Presidents elected (or selected) on their first run for office (does not include primary bids)
* George Washington: 1789
* John Adams: 1796
* James Madison: 1808
* James Monroe: 1816
* John Quincy Adams: 1824
* Martin Van Buren: 1836
* James Polk: 1844
* Zachary Taylor: 1848
* Franklin Pierce: 1852
* James Buchanan: 1856
* Abraham Lincoln: 1860
* Ulysses Grant: 1868
* Rutherford Hayes: 1876
* James Garfield: 1880
* Grover Cleveland: 1884
* Benjamin Harrison: 1888
* William McKinley: 1896
* Theodore Roosevelt: 1904
* William Taft: 1908
* Woodrow Wilson: 1912
* Warren Harding: 1920
* Calvin Coolidge: 1924
* Herbert Hoover: 1928
* Franklin Roosevelt: 1932
* Harry Truman: 1948
* Dwight Eisenhower: 1952
* John Kennedy: 1960
* Lyndon Johnson: 1964
* Jimmy Carter: 1976
* Ronald Reagan: 1980
* George Bush, 1988
* Bill Clinton: 1992
* George W. Bush: 2000
Presidents elected on their second run for office (does not include primary bids)
* Thomas Jefferson: defeated in 1796 by John Adams
* Andrew Jackson: John Quincy Adams was selected over Jackson in 1824.
* William Henry Harrison: defeated in 1836 by Martin van Buren.
* Richard Nixon: defeated in 1960 by John F. Kennedy.
Presidents who defeated each other
* John Quincy Adams: was selected over Andrew Jackson in 1824.
* Andrew Jackson: defeated John Quincy Adams in 1828.
* Martin Van Buren: defeated William Henry Harrison in 1836.
* William Henry Harrison: defeated Martin van Buren in 1840.
* Benjamin Harrison: defeated Grover Cleveland in 1888.
* Grover Cleveland: defeated Benjamin Harrison in 1892.
Presidents who served non-consecutive terms * Grover Cleveland
Presidents who received 100% of the electoral college votes * George Washington
Ex-Presidents who tried unsuccessfully to regain the presidency
* Martin Van Buren was defeated in the primary in 1844 by James Polk.
* Millard Fillmore was defeated in 1856 by James Buchanan.
* Ulysses Grant was defeated in 1880 in the primary by James Garfield.
* Theodore Roosevelt was defeated in 1912 by Woodrow Wilson.
Presidential deaths and misfortunes
Presidents killed by the incompetence of their doctors
* George Washington - bled to death by his doctors as treatment for "inflammatory quinsy"
* James Garfield - whose doctors contaminated his bullet wound so that he died of infection.
Assassinated presidents
* Abraham Lincoln - assassinated by John Wilkes Booth
* James Garfield - assassinated by Charles J. Guiteau
* William McKinley - assassinated by Leon F. Czolgosz
* John Kennedy - assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald
Presidents who suffered attempted assassinations
* Andrew Jackson - would-be assassin: Richard Lawrence (both derringers misfired)
* Harry Truman - Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola attempted to storm Blair House, residence of Truman
* Gerald Ford - would be assassins: Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme and Sara Jane Moore, in two separate incidences
* Ronald Reagan - shot and wounded by John W. Hinkley, Jr
Presidents who died in office of natural causes
* William Henry Harrison - died of "bilious pleurisy"
* Zachary Taylor - died of cholera morbus
* Warren Harding - died of pneumonia or stroke
* Franklin Roosevelt - died of cerebral hemorrhage
Impeached presidents
* Andrew Johnson
* Bill Clinton
Presidents who resigned * Richard Nixon
Presidential Families
Presidents related to earlier presidents
* James Madison: half first cousin twice removed of George Washington
* John Quincy Adams: son of John Adams
* Zachary Taylor: second cousin of James Madison
* Grover Cleveland: sixth cousin once removed of Ulysses Grant
* Benjamin Harrison: grandson of William Henry Harrison
* Theodore Roosevelt: third cousin twice removed of Martin Van Buren
* Franklin Roosevelt: fourth cousin once removed of Ulysses Grant,
fourth cousin three times removed of Zachary Taylor, fifth cousin of
Theodore Roosevelt
* Harry Truman: great-great-great nephew of John Tyler
* Richard Nixon: seventh cousin twice removed of William Taft, eighth cousin once removed of Herbert Hoover
* George Bush: fifth cousin four times removed of Franklin Pierce,
seventh cousin three times removed of Theodore Roosevelt, seventh
cousin four times removed of Abraham Lincoln, eleventh cousin once
removed of Gerald Ford
* George W. Bush: son of George Bush
African-American Presidents (hmm)
Note:
Several presidents were allegedly of mixed European and African
ancestry, which by U.S. reckoning would designate them as
African-American. See The Five Negro Presidents by J.A. Rogers and Six
Black Presidents: Black Blood, White Masks by Auset Bakhufu. *
Thomas Jefferson * Andrew Jackson * Abraham Lincoln *
Warren Harding * Dwight Eisenhower
Presidents who married while president * James Tyler * Grover Cleveland * Woodrow Wilson
Bachelor presidents * James Buchanan
Presidents with adopted children * George Washington * Andrew Jackson * Ronald Reagan +John McCain
Presidents who had children out of wedlock * Thomas Jefferson * Grover Cleveland * Warren Harding
Childless presidents * James Madison * James Polk * James Buchanan
Divorced presidents * Ronald Reagan
Presidential Party Affiliation
Federalist presidents
* George Washington
* John Adams
Democratic (or earlier, Democratic-Republican) presidents
* Thomas Jefferson
* James Madison
* James Monroe
* Andrew Jackson
* Martin Van Buren
* James Polk
* Franklin Pierce
* James Buchanan
* Andrew Johnson
* Grover Cleveland
* Woodrow Wilson
* Franklin Roosevelt
* Harry Truman
* John Kennedy
* Lyndon Johnson
* Jimmy Carter
* Bill Clinton
Whig presidents
* William Henry Harrison
* John Tyler
* Zachary Taylor
* Millard Fillmore
Republican presidents
* Abraham Lincoln
* Ulysses Grant
* Rutherford Hayes
* James Garfield
* Chester Arthur
* Benjamin Harrison
* William McKinley
* Theodore Roosevelt
* William Taft
* Warren Harding
* Calvin Coolidge
* Herbert Hoover
* Dwight Eisenhower
* Richard Nixon
* Gerald Ford
* Ronald Reagan
* George Bush
* George W. Bush
* John McCain
Presidents belonging to no party
* John Quincy Adams
Presidents who changed party affiliation after their presidency
* Millard Fillmore (Whig) became a candidate for the American or Know-Nothing Party.
* Theodore Roosevelt (Republican) founded the Progressive or Bull Moose Party.
Vice-Presidents
Presidents whose VP belonged to a different party
* John Adams (Federalist): Democratic Republican Thomas Jefferson was his VP.
* Abraham Lincoln (Republican): Democrat Andrew Johnson served as his second VP.
Presidents at least temporarily without vice-presidents
* John Tyler - He had been William Henry Harrison's VP, and the position was not filled when Tyler assumed the presidency.
* Millard Fillmore - He had been Zachary Taylor's VP, and the position was not filled when Fillmore assumed the presidency.
* Franklin Pierce - William Rufus DeVane King was elected VP, but died before assuming office, and was not replaced.
* Andrew Johnson - He had been Abraham Lincoln's VP, and the position was not filled when Johnson assumed the presidency.
* Ulysses Grant - His second-term VP, Henry Wilson, died in office and
was not replaced, leaving Grant without a VP for more than a year.
* Chester Arthur - He had been James Garfield's VP, and the position was not filled when Arthur assumed the presidency.
* Grover Cleveland - His first-term VP, Thomas Hendricks, was not replaced after dying nine months into his term.
* William McKinkey - His first VP, Garret Hobart, died in office in
1899, and was not replaced until March 1900 by Theodore Roosevelt.
* William Taft - His VP, James Sherman, died shortly before the end of Taft's term and was not replaced.
* Calvin Coolidge - He had been Warren Harding's VP, and the position
was not filled until Coolidge was elected for his own term in 1924.
* Harry Truman - He had been Franklin Roosevelt's last VP, and the
position was not filled until Truman was elected for his own term in
1948.
* Lyndon Johnson - He had been John Kennedy's VP, and the
position was not filled until Johnson was elected for his own term in
1964.
Presidents defeated for reelection by their own vice-president
* John Adams was defeated by his VP, Thomas Jefferson.
Vice-Presidents who tried for, but never achieved, the presidency
* George Clinton - Thomas Jefferson's VP, failed to defeat James Madison in the primary.
* Richard Johnson - Martin Van Buren's VP, failed to defeat James Polk in the primary.
* John Breckenridge - James Buchanan's VP, ran as a National Democrat and failed to defeat Abraham Lincoln .
* Henry Wallace - Franklin Roosevelt's VP, ran as a Progressive and failed to defeat Harry Truman.
* Hubert Humphrey - Lyndon Johnson's VP, failed to defeat Richard Nixon.
* Walter Mondale - Jimmy Carter's VP, failed to defeat Ronald Reagan.
* Al Gore - Bill Clinton's VP, lost the presidency to George W. Bush.
Vice-Presidents who later joined the Confederacy * John Breckenridge - James Buchanan's VP.
Vice-Presidents who changed party affiliation after their terms as VP
* John Calhoun - Andrew Jackson's VP, was a Democrat and became a Whig.
* John Breckenridge - James Buchanan's VP, was a Democrat and became a National Democrat.
* Henry Wallace - Franklin Roosevelt's VP, was a Democrat and became a Progessive.
Vice-Presidents who resigned as VP
* John Calhoun - Andrew Jackson's VP, resigned in 1832 to accept election to the Senate.
* Spiro Agnew - Richard Nixon's VP, resigned in 1973 to avoid criminal prosecution.
Miscellaneous Presidential Lists
Presidents who killed people outside of war (or who were accused thereof)
* George Washington - accused of murdering a French ambassador during peacetime.
* Andrew Jackson - killed a man in a duel
Presidents who had extramarital affairs
* Thomas Jefferson * James Garfield * Warren Harding *
Franklin Roosevelt * John Kennedy * Lyndon Johnson * Bill
Clinton *Ronald with someone, but he could not remember who when
asked.
Presidents with an alcohol problem * Franklin Pierce * Ulysses Grant * George W. Bush
Presidents who owned slaves
* George Washington
* Thomas Jefferson
* James Madison
* Andrew Jackson
* James Polk
* Zachary Taylor
Presidents with facial hair
* Martin Van Buren - large mutton-chops
* Abraham Lincoln - beard
* Ulysses Grant - beard and mustache
* Rutherford Hayes - beard and mustache
* James Garfield - beard and mustache
* Chester Arthur - mustache and sideburns
* Grover Cleveland - mustache
* Benjamin Harrison - beard and mustache
* Theodore Roosevelt - mustache
* William Taft - mustache
Presidents who joined the Confederacy * John Tyler
President who slept the most * Calvin Coolidge - slept 10 hours a day. and/or George "W" Bush
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http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312172/vicepresidents.html
Vice-Presidents of the United States
http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312172/firstladies.html
First Ladies of the United States
