- April 29, 2016
- 10:05 am
- Al Gini
- no comments
Gini in the Bottle
Fun Presidential Factoids and Trivia
Taken from: The Complete Books of Presidents
WM. Degregoric
Al Gini
Primary fatigue aside, what this exercise is all about is electing the 45th president of the United Taters of America. Below, in no particular order of importance, is a list of interesting facts about Presidents 1 to 44. Enjoy!
- Number of Presidents who were Generals, 12:
| Revolutionary War | War of 1812 | Mexican War | Civil War | WWII |
| George Washington | Andrew Jackson |
Zachary Taylor |
Andrew Johnson | Dwight D. |
| William Henry Harrison | Franklin Pierce | Ulysses Grant | Eisenhower | |
| Rutherford Hayes | ||||
| James Garfield | ||||
| Chester Arthur | ||||
| Benjamin Harrison |
Basic military service: (30) presidents in the military at some time in their lives
College Education:
(29)- completed college
(5) Attended College, but dropped out: Monroe, William Henry Harrison, Tyler, McKinley, F.D. Roosevelt (dropped out of Columbia Law School)
(8) Never went to college: Washington, Jackson, Van Buren, Zachary Tayler, Fillmore, Lincoln, Johnson, Cleveland
- Presidents who went to West Point: (2) Grant, Eisenhower
- Presidents who attended a Catholic College (1) Clinton (Georgetown)
- Least educated (2): Lincoln, Andrew Johnson
- Only PhD: W. Wilson
Most books written by Presidents:
Jimmy Carter (27)
Theodore Roosevelt (19)
Woodrow Wilson (8)
Obama (3)
Nobel Prize Winners (3)
- Theodore Roosevelt: 1906
- Woodrow Wilson: 1919
- Jimmy Carter: 2002
- B. Obama: 2009
Presidents of Universities: (2)
Woodrow Wilson (Princeton)
Dwight D. Eisenhower (Columbia)
College that graduated the most Presidents:
Harvard (8) – John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Theodore Roosevelt, Hayes, FD Roosevelt, Kennedy, George W. Bush (MBA), B. Obama (Law).
Presidential Relations/Relatives related:
Father/son: John Adams, Quincy Adams; George H. W. Bush, George Bush
Benjamin Harrison: grandson of William Henry Harrison
John Tyler: great uncle of Truman
Theodore Roosevelt: Uncle of Eleanor Roosevelt, Cousin of FDR.
Unmarried:
The only president to remain a bachelor was Buchanan
Most children:
John Tyler had the most children, raising 14 direct descendants
Youngest/Oldest:
Youngest- Kennedy (age 43), Theodore Roosevelt was VP at 42. Oldest- Regan (age 69).
Governors:
(16) Jefferson (VA), Monroe (VA), Tyler (VA), Johnson (TN), Hayes (OH), Cleveland (NY), McKinley (OH), Theodore Roosevelt (NY), Wilson (NJ), Harding (OH), Coolidge (MA), FD Roosevelt (NY), Carter (GA), Regan (CA), Clinton (AR), GW Bush (TX)
Most common religion:
Episcopalian (12)
Washington, Madison, Monroe, VanBuren, Harrison, Tyler, Zachary Taylor, Pierce, Arthur, FDR, Ford, George Bush Sr. (George Bush Jr. is Methodist)
Other interesting notes:
-John F. Kennedy- only Roman Catholic President
-Thomas Jefferson- Deist
-Multiple Religious Cited for two presidents Truman Baptist/Presbyterian; Hayes Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Methodist
-Two presidents with no religion specified:
Andrew Johnson
Abraham Lincoln
Most common state:
-Birth
Virginia (8) – Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Harrison, Tyler, Zachary Taylor, Wilson
-Lived in
New York (7) VanBuren, Fillmore, Arthur, Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, FD Roosevelt, Eisenhower
Presidents who were Senators (19):
Monroe (VA), John Q. Adams (MA), Jackson (TN), VanBuren (NY), WH Harrison (IN), Tyler (VA), Pierce (NH) Buchanan (PA), Andrew Johnson (TN) Garfield (OH), Benjamin Harrison (IN), Harding (OH), Coolidge (MA), FD Roosevelt (NY), Truman (MO), Kennedy (MA), Lyndon Johnson (TX), Nixon (CA), Obama (IL)
Presidents who served as Vice Presidents (14):
Adams, Jefferson, VanBuren, William Henry Harrison, Fillmore, Johnson, Arthur, Theodore Roosevelt, Coolidge, Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Nixon, Ford, George HW Bush
Lawyers: Most Common Profession:
22/23 Presidents were admitted to the bar before they took office
Died in office:
- Natural Death: Harrison, Z. Taylor, FDR, Harding.
- Assassinated: Lincoln, Garfield, McKinle, Kennedy
Only President to resign:
Richard Nixon
Other Presidential factoids:
-William Henry Harrison died in April 1841 from a cold/pneumonia that was contracted during his presidential address and inauguration.
-Grover Cleveland was the only president elected separately for two terms (1885, 1893).
-Grover Cleveland was said to have an illegitimate child with a women named Maria C. Halpin
-Woodrow Wilson suffered from a stroke in 1919, leaving him mostly paralyzed on the left side. Determined to hide his conditions from the public, his wife Edith Wilson, helped his advisors run the country for the remainder of Wilson’s term.
First African American President: B. Obama
First Female President: To Be Determined!