June 2, 2017 | Miles Brucker

60 Interesting Facts about US Presidents


Of course, everybody has their eye on the US presidency these days, but the White House has always been an interesting place.

Here are a few tidbits about US presidents that you might not have known.


Interesting Facts about United States Presidents: 60-54

60. Everybody Loves George

George Washington was the only US president to ever be unanimously elected. He refused to accept his salary, which was $25,000 a year. A later Constitutional amendment would force presidents to take their salariesPresident Facts

59. Who?

Historians claim that John Hanson was actually the forgotten first president of the United States because he was the first president under the Articles of Confederation.

John hanson

58. No Take Backs

Because it was a powerful political entity at the time, Harry Truman’s political advisers suggested he join the KKK. While he did give the $10 membership fee, he demanded it back and claims he was never inducted nor initiated.

President Facts

57. A Man of Letters

As sheriff of Erie County, New York, Grover Cleveland twice had to spring the trap at a hanging. He is the only US President to have ever held the job of hangman. We bet nobody ever accused ‘ol Grover for not being tough on crime.

President Facts

56. A Healthy Break

Grover Cleveland is the only president to be elected to two non-consecutive terms. He was America’s 22nd and 24th president. Having seen the before and after pictures of presidents who’ve done 8 years in a row, perhaps that wasn’t such a bad idea.

Grover 2

55. Why Bother?

The “S” in Harry S Truman doesn’t stand for anything.

President Facts

54. Morning Wood

Named after Abraham Lincoln and the log cabin where he was born, Lincoln Logs were invented by John Lloyd Wright, son of famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. We always thought Lincoln Logs were what got left in the Oval Office bathroom.

President Facts

53. Proudly Serving the American People

Lincoln is the only president who was also a licensed bartender. He co-owned Berry and Lincoln, a saloon in Springfield, Illinois.

President Facts

52. They Do Make Great Jars Though

Lincoln was the only president in the 1860 election who wasn’t a Freemason. Looks like everybody drastically underestimated the anti-Mason vote.

President Facts

51. If You Love Someone…

President James Buchanan quietly bought slaves in Washington, DC but then set them free in Pennsylvania.

President Facts

Sources: 1 2 3 4

50. They Had a Gay ‘Ol Time

Buchanan was also the only president who was a bachelor. He was, however, inseparable from an Alabaman senator named William R. King. The pair was nicknamed “Miss Nancy and Aunt Fancy.” Probably not to their faces though.

Facts about Unites States Presidents.

William Rufus King.

49. Snowbirds

It was so cold at Ulysses S. Grant’s inauguration that the canaries that were supposed to sing at the inaugural ball froze to death.

President Facts

48. He Shouldn’t Have Smoked All of Them

Ulysses S. Grant was an avid cigar smoker and after a brilliant war victory, a jubilant nation sent him more than 10,000 cigars. He died of throat cancer.

President Facts

47. Clinton’s Cuban Missile Crisis

Of course, this wasn’t the last time a cigar in the Oval Office hurt a president. During Bill Clinton’s impeachment hearings, it was revealed that Bill used a cigar to pleasure Monica Lewinsky.

Sad Bill

46. Hide, No Seek

Herbert Hoover gave all the White House servers strict instructions to hide from him whenever he passed by. Those who failed to do so were fired.

President Facts

45. A Chip and a Chair

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams once traveled to Stratford-upon-Avon to visit the birthplace of Shakespeare and while there, they carved wood chips out of one of Shakespeare’s chairs as souvenirs making them the most presidential vandals in history.

President Facts

Thomas Jefferson.

44. Sew What?

Andrew Johnson was a tailor and, as such, he only ever wore suits that he made himself.

Andrew Johnson

43. Motown Philly

George Washington was president when the capital of the country was Philadelphia. Washington didn’t actually become a thing until after, y’know, Washington.

President Facts

42. Every Day is Independence Day

Washington is the only president who didn’t represent a political party and served as an independent. Unless you count Kiefer Sutherland.

President Facts

41. A Little Too Patriotic

Three presidents have actually died on July 4th: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Monroe.

President Facts

James Monroe.

Sources: 1 2 3 4

40. #LetsTalk

The first president to ever talk on the phone was James Abram Garfield and his first words to Alexander Graham Bell, who was on the other end, were “Please speak a little more slowly.”

Garfield

James Abram Garfield.

39. Classic Good News, Bad News

The first president to ever ride in a self-propelled vehicle was William McKinley. Unfortunately, it was an ambulance that was taking him to the hospital after he was shot.

Old Ambulance - Facts about Presidents

38. Not O-KKK

The first president to ever show a movie at the White House was Woodrow Wilson. Unfortunately, it was The Birth of a Nation, one of the most racist films in American history.

President Facts

37. Closeted

Twenty-ninth president Warren Gamaliel Harding frequently made love to a then-teenage girl, Nan Britton, in a White House closet. On one occasion, the Secret Service had to prevent his wife from catching them in the act.

President Facts

36. He’s Okay

Martin Van Buren was known as “Old Kinderhook” and his campaign was supported by “O.K.” clubs. This is actually the origin of the word “O.K.” Okily dokily didn’t come until much later.

President Facts

35. Made in America

Van Buren was the first American president who was actually American. All the previous presidents were British-born.

President Facts

34. Bad Sushi

After Bush Sr. vomited on the Japanese Prime Minister, the Japanese invented a new word: Bushusuru. This means to “do the Bush thing” or to “publicly vomit.”

President Facts

33. The Jimmies

There were six presidents named James: Madison, Monroe, Polk, Buchanan, Garfield, and Carter.

James Polk

James Polk.

32. And All He Got Was a Participation Trophy

President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the only president to have served in both World War I and World War II. Some guys have all the luck.

President Facts

31. Tricky Dick

Eisenhower had an affair with his driver, Kay Summersby who later wrote a book about it in which she claimed he was impotent.

President Facts

Sources: 1 2 3 4

30. Denial is a State Too

Richard Milhous Nixon was the first president to visit all fifty states and the first to ever visit China.

Nixon China

29. You Can’t Fire Me, I Quit!

Nixon, of course, is the only president to have ever resigned. Turns out, he was a crook.

President Facts

28. Of Course

Jimmy Carter was the first president to go on record as having seen a UFO.

President Facts

27. No Longer Working for Peanuts

Jimmy Carter was a wealthy peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia. When he took office, he put his peanut farm in a blind trust, y’know, the way good presidents do to avoid conflicts of interest.

President Facts

26. Making Love on the Grassy Knoll

John F. Kennedy likely had the most prolific extramarital sex life of all the presidents, having allegedly slept with Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, Audrey Hepburn, Angie Dickinson, Marlene Dietrich, and White House staffers.

President Facts

25. Movin’ On Up

Jefferson had a 38-year long affair with Sally Hemmings, one of his slaves, and he may be the father of her children.

President Facts

Interesting Facts about United States Presidents: 24-18

24. So Close

Ronald Wilson Reagan won the Most Nearly Perfect Male Figure Award from the University of California in 1940.

President Facts

23. It’s Not the Size of the President…

At 5’4”, James Madison was the shortest president ever. He also never weighed more than 100 pounds. Had the US presidency not worked out, he could have had a great career as a jockey.

President Facts

22. Standing Tall

Standing at 6’4”, the tallest president was Abraham Lincoln. And that doesn’t even include the hat. Of course, his impressive physique probably helped him out in that Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter film in 2012. It didn’t help the films Rotten Tomatoes rating though…

President Facts

21. Standing Really Tall

Every member of Teddy Roosevelt’s family owned a pair of stilts. They often walked around the White House on them for fun.

President Facts

Sources: 1 2 3 4

20. An Oval President for an Oval Office

The largest US president was William Howard Taft who weighed in at 325 pounds and often got stuck in the White House bathtub.

President Facts

19. Young Buck

At the age of 42, the youngest person to assume the office of president was Teddy Roosevelt, who became president after McKinley’s assassination.

President Facts

18. Old Dog, Old Trick

At the age of 70, Donald John Trump is the oldest person ever to assume the presidency.

President Facts

17. He Couldn’t Bear It

“Teddy Bears” got their name when Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot a small bear cub prompting a toy manufacturer to start making cute stuffed animals. Yay capitalism.

President Facts

16. What Speech Giveth…

During his second run for president, Teddy Roosevelt was shot after a failed assassination attempt but, instead of going to the hospital, insisted on giving a planned speech with the bullet still lodged in his chest. The bullet was reportedly slowed by the thick papers in Roosevelt’s coat pocket on which the speech was written.President Facts

15. … Speech Taketh Away

Clocking in at over a hundred minutes, William Henry Harrison holds the record for the longest inauguration speech in history. Unfortunately, the speech was given outdoors during bad weather and, a month later, Harrison died of pneumonia, making his presidency the shortest on record.

President Facts

14. Gun Control

Andrew Jackson was apparently involved in over a hundred duels, most of which were fought to defend his wife’s honor. Why her honor was constantly besmirched is another story.

President Facts

13. A Museum Piece

James Garfield was shot in the back with a five-barrel, .44 caliber pistol called a British Bulldog. When asked why he selected that gun, the assassin Charles Guiteau said he thought it’d look good in a museum someday.

President Facts

12. A Dubious Distinction

Robert Lincoln witnessed three presidential assassinations. His father Abraham, James Garfield, and William McKinley. After the third one, he vowed he would never again appear in public with a sitting president. We bet McKinley wishes Robert had stopped at two.

Robert Lincoln - Facts about US Presidents

11. Sibling Rivalry

No president has ever been an only child.

US Presidents

Sources: 1 2 3 4

10. They Don’t Make Attack Ads Like They Used To

John Adams’ campaign against Jefferson said that if Jefferson was elected, “murder, robbery, rape, adultery, and incest will be openly taught and practiced.” Talk about going negative.

President Facts

John Adams.

9. Calvinball

Calvin Coolidge used to press every button on his desk in the Oval Office and then hide before all the staff arrived. He said he did it to see if everyone was working. The answer? They were.

President Facts

8. And a Nobel Peace Prize Too

The 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, has two Grammy Awards. He beat out Former President Bill Clinton and Former President Jimmy Carter to win the second.

President Facts

7. A Pioneer

Andrew Johnson was the first president to ever be impeached. He was impeached for breaching the Tenure of Office act, which stated that congressional approval was required to dismiss an appointed official. He was acquitted by a single Senate vote.

President Facts

6. Tripped Up

The next impeachment didn’t happen until 131 years later when Clinton was impeached for perjuring himself after redefining the acts covered under the term “sexual relations.”

Bill Clinton - USA President Facts.

5. The Second First Lady

Ronald Reagan was the first president to have taken office after having gone through a divorce. He split from his first wife, actress Jane Wyman, decades before his presidential run.

President Facts

4. Party of Family Values Indeed

Donald Trump is the first president to have multiple failed marriages under his belt. The first was to Ivana Zelnickova, and the second was to Marla Maples.

President Facts

3. Unsuitable

With over 3,500 legal cases in the last 30 years, Trump is currently the most sued president in US history with topics ranging from contract disputes, defamation claims, to allegations of sexual harassment. Settlements have ranged from hundreds of thousands to tens of millions.

Facts about US Presidents - Trump

2. Money Money Money

Trump is the first billionaire president of the United States.

President Facts

1. Finish Him!

Trump is the first and only US president to have ever received a Stone Cold Stunner.

President Facts

Sources: 1 2 3 4


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