Fun Facts About The Presidency

Wi th the inauguration of our 44th President of the United States coming up on January 20th, I thought it would be fun to look at some facts about the Presidency that you may or may not know.

On January 20th, Barack Obama will be our 44th president. Did you know that he will actually be only the 43rd person to hold the office? Gover Cleveland was elected to 2 terms as president, but they were not consecutive. He is listed as our 22nd and 24th president.

Did you know that John Adams became the first president to live in the presidential residence that we know as the White House? However, when he moved into the residence during 1800, it was not called the White House. Instead, it was referred to as the President's Palace, the President's House, or the Executive Mansion. The first president to live in the "White House" was Theodore Roosevelt, who gave the residence its official name in 1901.

The tallest president of the United States was Abraham Lincoln, who stood 6 feet 4 inches tall. The shortest president was James Madison who was 5 feet 4 inches tall.

Do you know who was the 1st president to be born as a US citizen? Martin Van Buren. The seven presidents prior to Van Buren (Washington, J. Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, J.Q. Adams and Jackson) were considered British subjects. William Harrison, who took office immediately after Van Buren, was also born as a British subject.

Abraham Lincoln was the first American born president that was born outside of the original colonies. Herbert Hoover was the 1st American born president born west of the Mississippi. Richard Nixon was the 1st and only president born in California.

Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest president at age 42 when he took office, however, he became president after William McKinley died in office. The youngest elected president was John F. Kennedy at 43 years of age when elected. Ronald Reagan was the oldest at 69 when he was elected and age 77 when he left office.

John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison and George W. Bush all lost the popular vote but still became president.

Jimmy Carter is the only president to have graduated from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis.
Woodrow Wilson was the only president who had a Ph.D. He received a doctorate in political science from Johns Hopkins University in 1886.

Who is the only person to become president without being elected as either president or vice president? Gerald Ford. He was nominated to be Richard Nixon's vice president after Spiro Agnew resigned. Later, when Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, For became the 38th president.