100+ Unusual Facts About U.S. Presidents

This article is written in Honor of Presidents’ Day 2024. Do you know the names of all the 46 U.S. presidents by the years they served the United States Of America, since 1789?  Keep reading the article to expand your knowledge of the U.S.’s most powerful position by reading some unusual facts about these presidents.

Below is the list of presidents by years they served in the presidency:

1) GEORGE WASHINGTON (1789-97)

• He was the first president of the Nation. 
• The maximum number of presidents belonged to Virginia including G. Washington. 
• He was the only person who won the Electoral Vote unanimously.
• Washington’s hair wasn’t white as it appears in the dollar bill. They were red but were powered to match the white wigs of his contemporaries. 

 2) JOHN ADAMS (1797- 1801)

• He died on 4th July 1826, the day of the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence of the nation.
• He was the first president to live in the White House.

3) THOMAS JEFFERSON (1801-09)

• He also belonged to Virginia.
• He also died on 4th July 1826, five hours before the death of John Adams.
• He was the one to design the swivel chair and used it while writing the Declaration of Independence.
• He hated public speaking and has given only two presidential speeches. He rather preferred writing his State of the Union messages to Congress in writing.

4) JAMES MADISON (1809-17)

• He was the shortest president at 5 ft 4′, weighing 100 pounds.
• He was also from Virginia.
• He had a parrot as his pet who outlived him.
• The White House was set on fire during world war I under the presidency of Madison.
• He was the first graduate student at Princeton and studied Hebrew among other subjects.

5) JAMES MONROE (1817-25)

• He was also one of the eight presidents from Virginia.
• He also died on 4th July 1831, 5 years after T. Jefferson and J. Adams.

6) JOHN QUINCY ADAMS (1825-29)

• He is the son of the 2nd President of the U.S., John Adams.
• He was the smartest president with an IQ of 165-175.
• The president valued physical fitness a lot and also liked Skinny Dipping every morning.
• He had an alligator as his pet.

7) ANDREW JACKSONS (1829-37)

• In 1806, the president killed Charles Dickinson in a duel for accusing Jacksons of cheating and insulting his wife.
• He had a pet parrot who was taught profanity by him. The parrot, poll, squawked obscenities during Andrew’s funeral.

8) MARTIN VAN. BUREN (1837-41)

• He was the only president to learn English as his second language, his first language was Dutch.
• He was the first president to be born after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
• The president had tiger cubs as pets which were later sent to the zoo.

9) WILLIAM H. HARRISON (March 1841- April 1841)

• He was also from Virginia.
• The president had the shortest presidential term and died after only 31 days in office of pneumonia
• His inaugural speech was the longest speech given by any president.

10) JOHN TYLER (1841-1845)

• He was also from Virginia.
• The first president to be married in the White House.
• He had 15 children, maximum among all other presidents.

11) JAMES K. POLK (1845-49)

• He and Donald Trump are the only presidents who didn’t have any pets.

12) ZACHARY TAYLOR (1849-50)

• Taylor died of inflammation of the stomach and intestines in the office.
• He was also from Virginia.

13) MILLARD FILMORE (1850-53)

• He is one of the least regarded presidents and considered uninspiring.
• He became an accidental president and assumed the presidency after the sudden death of Z. Taylor.

14) FRANKLIN PIERCE (1853-57)

• He was an alcoholic and was criticized during the presidency and campaign for his alcoholism.

15) JAMES BUCHANAN (1857-61)

• He was the only president who was gay and remained a bachelor lifelong.

16) ABRAHAM LINCOLN (1861-65)

• He was the tallest president at 6ft. 4′.
• He grew a beard as advised by an 11-year-old girl.
• The president’s pet was a turkey he saved from a Thanksgiving dinner.
• Died after being assassinated, shot in the head, in the office.
• He was a wrestler and won his country’s wrestling championship.

17) ANDREW JACKSON (1865-69)

• He assumed the presidency after Lincoln was assassinated.
• He was the first president to be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors.

18) ULYSSES S. GRANT (1869-77)

• The S. in the name was a result of a clerical mistake.
• He was given a speeding ticket for driving his horse carriage too fast.

19) RUTHERFORD B. HAYES (1877-81)

• The first president to use the telephone.

20) JAMES A. GARFIELD (March 1881- September 1881)

• Died after being assassinated in the office

21) CHESTER A. ARTHUR (1881-85)

• He was named after the doctor who delivered him.
• He was accused of setting up people to assassinate Garfield so that he can become the president.
• He had no Vice President during his four-year term.

22) GROVER CLEVELAND (1885-89)

• He was married in 1886 during his presidential terms.

23) BENJAMIN HARRISON (1889-1893)

• He is the grandson of the 9th president, Henry Harrison.
• Benjamin Harrison became the first president to attend a baseball game when he went to the Cincinnati/Washington major league game in 1892.
• He had an alligator as his pet.

24) GROVER CLEVELAND (1893-97)

• The 22nd and 24th President of the U.S. He was the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms.

25) WILLIAM MCKINLEY (1897-September 1901)

• He died after his assassination.

26) THEODORE ROOSEVELT (1901-09) 

• He was the youngest president to serve the nation. He took over the presidency after the assassination of W. Mckinley.
• He was the first president to travel out of the country in 1906 to inspect the Panama Canal.
• The teddy bears were named after Theodore when he refused to kill a bear while attending a hunting event.

27)  WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT(1909-13)

• Taft’s favourite food was Possum.
• He was the heaviest president weighing 330 pounds. He couldn’t fit into the White House bathtub and had to get a new one installed.
• He also served as chief justice of the supreme court in 1921.
• In 1906, Ford’s Model T  became the official mode of transport of the president. It was the first automobile in the White House

28) WOODROW WILSON (1913-21)

• He got married in the white house.
• The last president to belong from Virginia till now.

29) WARREN G. HARDING (1921- August 1923)

• He died of a heart attack on 2nd August 1923, while serving in the office.
• In two years of his serving, the president gained a negative reputation due to his habit of playing poker, smoking cigars, and drinking bootlegged whiskey. He once lost all the china of the White House in a game of poker.

30) CALVIN COOLIDGE (1923-29)

• He was born on 4th July, the Independence Day of the U.S.

31)  HERBERT HOOVER (1929-33)

• The White House was again set on fire in 1929 under his presidency.

32) FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT (1933-April 1945)

• He died of a stroke while serving in the office.
• He was the 5th Cousin of 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt.
• He was the only president to win the elections four times.
• He was the first president to fly in 1943.
• He was also the first president to appear on television in a World Fair broadcast in 1939.
• The president liked collecting stamps. This hobby helped him during his bedridden period due to Polio.

33) HARRY S. TRUMAN(1945-53)

• He took over after the death of Franklin during the end of world war II.
• In 1947. He opened a bowling alley in the White House as he loved bowling.

34) DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER(1953-61)

• He is the first president to ride a helicopter.
• He became an avid painter after his presidency ended.

35) JOHN F. KENNEDY(1961-63)

• He died in an assassination in 1963 while serving the office.
• The first Catholic president of the U.S.

36) LYNDON B. JOHNSON (1963-69)

• He was a 6ft. 4’ tall president and used his height to tower over politicians and get what he wanted. This was called the “Johnson’s Treatment ”.

37) RICHARD NIXON (1969- August 1974)

• He was the only president who resigned from office due to the Watergate Scandal.
• He also loved bowling and hence installed a second bowling alley in the White House as the first one was open to the staff also.

38) GERALD FORD (1974-77)

• Two women attempted to assassinate him in 1975,  but the women were caught and stopped. They were sentenced to life in prison.

39)  JAMES EARL CARTER (1977-81)

• He was a major movie buff.
• Won three Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word Album.

40) RONALD REAGAN (1981-89)

• He had to wear a hearing aid after an actor shot a gun near his ears and his hearing ability degraded.

41) GEORGE H. W. BUSH (1989-93)

• The president loved skydiving. He had made a total of eight parachute jumps, by the time of his death.

42) BILL CLINTON (1993-2001)

• Although he was a talented saxophone player, he won two Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word Album in 2003 and 2004.
• He was impeached in 1998 for allegations of misconduct.
• The president loved eating fast food.

43) GEORGE W. BUSH (2001-09)

• He was the son of 41st president George W. H.  Bush.
• Before joining the presidency he was a cheerleader, a fraternity brother, and an owner of a professional baseball team.
• He became a painter after serving his presidential term.

44) BARACK OBAMA (2009-17)

• He was the first black president of the U.S.
• He was given the nickname “ Barry O’bomber” by his high school basketball team as he loved taking long-range jump shots.
• Won two Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word Album.

45) DONALD TRUMP (2017-21)

• The shortest Inaugural Address was Donald Trump’s 2017 Address at 1,433 words.
• He didn’t own any pets during his presidential term.
• He was convicted in 2020 and 2021 for allegations of misconduct.
• The president avoids shaking hands whenever he can, as he is a germaphobe.

46) JOE BIDEN (2021- present)

• The oldest president to be sworn in the presidency at the age of 78.
• He had a childhood stutter which was overcome by reciting poetry in front of the mirror.

After reading this article about 100+ unusual facts about U.S. Presidents, you might have got a clearer view about the list of the name of the presidents by years they served and some facts about them. They had their love for their pets, hobbies, and some activities. Some were unfortunate to get assassinated or died during their presidency. Some had flaws and even were accused of misconduct. But all of them were great leaders and helped make the U.S., one of the most powerful nations on the map.

READ MORE: PRESIDENTS’ DAY 2022: Honoring And Celebrating U.S. Leaders