List Of Presidents Of The United States

Last updated on November 17th, 2021

The United States of America was founded on 4 July 1776. The United States has 50 states. The capital of the United States is Washington DC. It has had 46 Presidents until now. The name and other details pertaining to these Presidents are mentioned in the list below. We hope that this list will help you in gaining some important information regarding these U.S. presidents including their date of birth and death, their term in office, and their spouse.

Interesting facts about US Presidents

 

1. George Washington

George Washington did not wear wooden dentures. What he actually wore was a set of false teeth made from ivory. Over time, hippopotamus ivory becomes discolored, which made them look like wood.

2. John Adams

John Adams was the first American president to live in the White House. Adams hated Thomas Jefferson so much that in his deathbed, his last words were, “Thomas Jefferson survives.” In truth, Jefferson did die on the same day as Adams but he did so a few hours earlier.

3. Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson’s love of French cuisine introduced him to ice cream. He served ice cream to guests in the White House, making the cool favorite a newsworthy item, which raised its popularity. Jefferson is also credited for making other foods popular, including mac ‘n’ cheese, Parmesan cheese, and French fries.

4. James Madison

James Madison’s fierce intelligence more than made up for his small stature (5’4″) and slight built. He finished a four-year course in just two years at the College of New Jersey (which is now Princeton University). He continued his studies for another year and is now considered the university’s first graduate student.

5. George Washington

George Washington may have famously crossed the Delaware but James Monroe actually did it first. He is the last US president who was never photographed and is also the first American president to be inaugurated outdoors. He also regarded the Constitution with suspicion, citing (among other things) that it allowed the government to impose taxes on people without their consent.

 

6. John Quincy Adams

During his inauguration, John Quincy Adams eschewed the powdered wig. He loved to dance and was once sent to a dance school in Europe by his father, who was not a graceful dancer himself. Adams was intelligent and sophisticated but he was also a simple man. He loved skinny-dipping and hated kissing during New Year’s eve celebrations.

7. Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was a Revolutionary POW (prisoner of war). He bought The Hermitage, a plantation that came with nine slaves. When he left for the White House, it had over 150. He also liked to duel and once beat a man who was called Tennessee’s best shot. Jackson also lived with a bullet embedded in his body that caused him pain all his life.

8. Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren was called “Red Fox” because of his shrewdness as a politician. The stock market crash lost him a reelection and earned him the nickname, “Martin Van Ruin”. Unlike the presidents before him, he was born a U.S. citizen, not a British subject. His other nickname was Old Kinderhook and he used “OK” during his campaign, which popularized the expression.

9. William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison was the shortest-serving American president. He died just 32 days after his inauguration. He gave a rather lengthy inaugural speech in the cold rain without a hat or a coat. He suffered from a cold thereafter, which later became pneumonia.

10. John Tyler

John Tyler had the most number of (known) children (fifteen children over two marriages) of any US president. Because he took over from Harrison and was not elected, his political rivals called him, “His Accidency”.

 

11. James Polk

James Polk’s presidency allowed common folks to drop by the White House twice a week during his work hours to discuss, lobby, and even to ask for work. He was said to have been humorless and somber, and worked 12 hours a day. During his administration, he oversaw the construction of the Washington monument and introduced the postage stamp.

12. Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor was nominated for president by the Whig Party in 1848 in absentia and without his knowledge. During a visit to the Washington monument that was still being constructed, Taylor ate cherries, milk, and raw vegetables. He died a few days later of acute gastroenteritis while still serving as president.

13. Millard Fillmore

Millard Fillmore helped fund Commodore Matthew Perry’s voyage to Japan to start trade and he also prevented the takeover of the Hawaiian Islands by France. When the Library of Congress caught fire in 1851, Fillmore personally helped to put it out.

14. Franklin Pierce

When Franklin Pierce was inaugurated in 1853, he delivered his speech without reading, since he’d memorized it – the first US president to do so. When his young son died in an accident, Franklin became depressed and began to drink heavily. He is considered as one of the best looking American presidents.

15. James Buchanan

James Buchanan was the bachelor president. Because of his indecisiveness, he is considered as one of the weakest leaders in U.S. history. Historians blame his unwillingness to take a stand as a contributory factor to the Civil War. He tried to purchase Cuba from Spain but failed. When he left the White House, he declared himself as the “happiest man on Earth”.

 

16. Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was a wrestler and a pretty good one at that. Out of the 300 matches he was in, he was only beaten once. That is why his name is included in the Wrestling Hall of Fame. He and his wife also dabbled in seances in the White House.

17. Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson was a self-taught man who never went to school because of poverty. He was responsible for the valuable acquisition of Alaska from Russia. He also took care of a family of mice in the White House. He is the first of three US presidents to be impeached.

18. Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant’s real first name was Hiram. A benefactor’s mistake in Grant’s West Point application form gave him this iconic moniker and he was sometimes referred to as U.S. Grant. He and his wife Julia are buried in the largest mausoleum in the U.S. and Canada.

19. Rutherford Birchard Hayes

Rutherford Birchard Hayes started the Easter Egg Roll in the White House. He never served wine or alcohol during his presidency. Instead, his wife would give guests lemonade.

20. James Abram Garfield

When he was shot, Garfield’s doctors did not bother to wash their hands before attempting to remove the bullet from his abdomen. Garfield subsequently suffered from blood infection. Inventor Alexander Graham Bell made a metal detector to help find the bullet in Garfield’s body but failed.

 

21. Chester Alan Arthur

To help raise money to redecorate the White House, Chester Arthur sold numerous items, including an old pair of pants that belonged to Lincoln. He owned about 80 pairs of pants and was the first U.S. president to enjoy the services of a valet.

22. Stephen Grover Cleveland

Because of his height and the fact that his real name is Stephen, Grover Cleveland’s nickname was Big Steve. He won the presidency by a very narrow margin – 1,200 votes in New York.

23. Benjamin Harrison 

Benjamin Harrison enjoyed the first use of electrical power in the White House. Because he was afraid of electric shock, he refused to touch the lights and had to sleep with the lights on.

24. William McKinley

William McKinley was the first US president to ride a car. He had a parrot named Washington Post. McKinley would whistle the first few notes of “Yankee Doodle” and the parrot would finish it.

25. Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt was supposed to have had a photographic memory. There are documented cases wherein Roosevelt could, indeed, recite poetry (even obscure ones) many years after having read the text.

 

26. William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft was the first of the US presidents to own an automobile. He also was the last president to keep a live cow in the White House lawns to supply milk. The cow was named Pauline.

27. Thomas Woodrow Wilson

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was instrumental in founding the League of Nations. For this, he received the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize. He is the face of the $100,000 bill.

28. William Harding

William Harding enjoyed the support of the biggest celebrities of his time – Al Jolson, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks. He had a nickname for his penis – Jerry. He was pro-Prohibition but enjoyed drinking.

29. Calvin Coolidge

As a form of exercise, Calvin Coolidge would ride a mechanical horse, nicknamed Thunderbolt. When he grew tired of it, he used other fitness contraptions, including a vibrating machine to reduce belly fat.

30. Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover was a multi-millionaire, thanks to his former job as a partner at the Bewick, Moreing and Company mining firm. He was rich enough to donate his own salary as the president to charity.

 

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