Presidential Fun Facts
* Abraham Lincoln is the only U.S. president who was also a licensed bartender. He was co-owner of the Berry and Lincoln, a saloon in Springfield, Illinois.
* The only president to be unanimously elected was George Washington. He also refused to accept his presidential salary of $25,000 a year.
* Grover Cleveland was the only president in history to hold the job of a hangman. He was once the sheriff of Erie County, New York, and twice had to spring the trap at a hanging.
* The "S" in Harry S Truman doesn't stand for anything; therefore there is no period after his middle initial.
* James Madison and Thomas Jefferson were once arrested together for taking a carriage ride in the countryside of Vermont on a Sunday, which violated the laws of that state.
* Andrew Johnson is the only tailor ever to be president. He would only wear the suits that he made himself.
* "Teddy Bears" were so named when Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt refused to shoot a small bear cub one day. The incident was reported in the news, which inspired a toy manufacturer to come out with the stuffed animal.
* Presidents George Washington and John Adams never lived in the White House. It was built 1792 - 1800, and Thomas Jefferson was the first president to move into the residence in 1801.
* James Garfield was the first president to ever talk on the phone. When he spoke to Alexander Graham Bell, who was at the other end 13 miles away, he said "Please speak a little more slowly."
* The term "O.K." comes from President Martin Van Buren who was known as "Old Kinderhook" because he was raised in Kinderhook, New York. "O.K." clubs were created to support Van Buren's campaigns.
* Grover Cleveland is the only president to be elected to two nonconsecutive terms. He was the 22nd and 24th president.
* Martin Van Buren was the first president to be a U.S. citizen. All previous presidents were born British subjects.
* Herbert Hoover gave his White House servants strict orders to hide from him whenever he passed by. Those who failed to do so were at risk of being fired.
* Ronald Reagan won the Most Nearly Perfect Male Figure Award from the University of California in 1940.
* James Garfield could write Latin with one hand and Greek with the other hand simultaneously.
* Andrew Jackson was reportedly involved in over 100 duels, most to defend the honor of his wife, Rachel. He was shot twice.
* Robert Lincoln is the only man in U.S. history known to have witnessed the assassinations of three different presidents: his father Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield and William McKinley. He vowed he would never again appear in public with an incumbent president.
* Some historians claim that John Hanson is actually the forgotten first president of the U.S. because he was the first president under the Articles of Confederation.
* At 325 pounds, William Howard Taft, who was dubbed "Big Bill," was the largest president in American history and once got stuck in the White House bathtub and staff removed him with butter. He installed a larger tub.
* Every member of Teddy Roosevelt's family owned a pair of stilts, including the first lady.
* George Washington made the shortest inauguration speech at two minutes and William Henry Harrison made the longest at one hour and 40 minutes. |