At his inauguration, Washington had only one tooth. At various times he wore dentures made of human teeth, animal teeth, ivory or even lead.
Married his way into becoming the richest man in Virginia.
Wouldn't let inferiors sit in his presence.
Grew hemp
His salary was 25,000 per year
In 1880, Congress created "Washington's Birthday," the first federal holiday to honor an American-born citizen. The holiday was celebrated on February 22 until 1968, when Congress moved it from its fixed day to the third Monday in February as part of the Uniform Monday Holidays Act.
2. John Adams
Defended the redcoats in the Boston Massacre.
Died within minutes of Thomas Jefferson.
Had an incredibly high and squeaky voice and spoke with a lisp. He stubbornly refused to wear dentures.
Died, July 4, 1826…the same day as his bitter rival, Thomas Jefferson. His last words were, “and still Jefferson lives”…not realizing Jefferson had died hours earlier.
Graduated Harvard College (1755). Adams was the great-great-grandson of John and Priscilla Alden, pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620.
Adams and Jefferson were the only presidents to sign the Declaration of Independence, and they both died on its 50th anniversary, July 4, 1826.
Vice-President under Washington. Older that any other president at his death, he lived 90 years, 247 days.
3. Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson, the third (and many would say greatest) president of the United States was not merely one of the key Founding Fathers and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence - he also invented the swivel chair.
Opposite of Washington in that he wouldn’t let anyone bow to him and always wanted to be like a “regular guy”…often answered the door to the White House himself.
Is there anything Thomas Jefferson couldn’t do? He was good at so many things - he was a brilliant political thinker, author of the Declaration of Independence, diplomat, architect, inventor, scientific farmer, musician, founder of the prestigious Univ. of Virginia, creator of the decimal system of coinage for the U.S., - but sadly, he was not good at managing money. Jefferson enjoyed fine living and often outspent his income to support his lavish lifestyle.
Jefferson had done so much for this country that many tried to help. Congress overpaid Jefferson for his book collection, and members of the public, who often had much less than Jefferson, made contributions to his cause. But all this help was too little, too late; when he died in 1862, he had racked up over $100,000 of debt. In today’s terms, that’d be like $1.5 million! Jefferson’s family, stuck with his debt, had no choice but to sell Jefferson’s beloved home, Monticello, to help settle the debt.
Thomas Jefferson was an avid inventor who is credited with inventing the coat hanger… hideaway bed….and dumbwaiter.
Grew hemp
4. James Madison
James Madison…smallest president. He was 5’ 5” and weighed only 100 pounds. He was at least fifty pounds smaller than his wife, Dolly Madison. And with her boisterous personality, some felt she pushed him around. He denied this.
He hated parties and dancing, but his wife always threw balls and parties. James Madison is the first president to have an integration ball.
"First Lady" was used first in 1849 when President Zachary Taylor called Dolley Madison "First Lady" at her state funeral.
British troops burned the White House 1814. First president to have had prior service as a congressman. First president to wear trousers rather than knee breeches.
5. James Monroe
James Monroe: Graduated College of William and Mary (1776) Secretary of State under Madison. Secretary of Was under Madison.
On December 2, 1923 proclaimed the Monroe Doctrine, warning European powers not to interfere in U.S. affairs. First president to ride on a steamboat.
First U.S. Senator to become president.
First inaugural to be held outdoors. His daughter was the first to be married in the White House.
The U.S. Marine band played at his second inaugural and every inauguration since.
He, like Jefferson and Adams, died on the fourth of July…not the same year.
6. John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams: Graduated Harvard College (1787) Secretary of State under Monroe.
Adams swam nude (weather permitting) in the Potomac River every day.
A female reporter once caught him swimming in the Potomac and forced him to give a nude interview.
First elected president not to receive either the most electoral college votes or popular votes.
First of two sons of a president to become a president.
Only president elected to the House of Representatives after his presidency.
He named one of his sons George Washington.
7. Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson: No formal education. Was first man elected from Tennessee to the House of Representatives, and he served briefly in the Senate.
Placed 2,000 of his political supporters in government jobs and established a "kitchen cabinet" of informal advisors.
In 1835 he made the final installment of national debt making Jackson the only president of a debt free United States. He was the only president to serve in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. He was the only president to have been a prisoner of war.
He was the first president to have been born in a log cabin. First president to ride a railroad train.
Wounded in a duel at the age of 39, Jackson carried the bullet, lodged near his heart, to his grave. Because of that he had chest pains and an extreme amount of phlegm for the rest of his life.
Was in over 100 duels, many because people bad mouthed his wife, Rachel. He rescued her from an abusive relationship with her first husband and it was in question if she was officially divorced when they married. If someone mentioned this, Jackson would draw on them.
Enormously popular.
He called paper money “junk” and only used gold coins. Oddly, he was honored for this by being placed on the 20 dollar bill.
8. Martin Van Buren
Wrote an autobiography that failed to mention his wife, even once.
Vice President under Jackson.
First president born in the United States of America. He and his wife spoke Dutch at home.
He took his four years salary, $100,000, in a lump sum at the end of his term.
After serving one term as president, he made three unsuccessful bids for reelection.
9. William Henry Harrison
Chris Demm was at the place he was born over the weekend.
Chris Demm was married at the place he was born.
This solemn place is currently covered with snow and has goose shite everywhere…it was occupied until 1999.
The song “Taps” was composed there.
First Thanksgiving in the new world at his future house.
Rumor has it that all of the first ten president’s partied there. That’s unconfirmed but we know for sure that Lincoln was there…he stopped by twice.
Chris Kelly nearly pulled a tent down there doing a dance called the “Giant” or “the Carolina Hop” while at Chris Demm’s wedding.
Harrison gave the longest inaugural address - one hour 45 minutes. Only president who studied to become a doctor. His immediate job before becoming president was clerk of Hamilton County (Ohio) court. First president to die in office. Inaugurated on March 4, 1841, contracted pneumonia in late March, died in the White House on April 4. Served 31 days.
10. John Tyler
Graduated College of William and Mary (1807). Vice President under Harrison. First vice president to assume office after the death of a president.
When he ascended to the presidency following the death of William Henry Harrison, he was dubbed "His Accidency"
Tyler was so deeply unpopular during his presidency that all but one of his cabinet members resigned in protest.
In January 1843, the Whigs introduced impeachment resolutions in the House, but the measures were defeated. Tyler served as president without being a member of any political party. He was a grand-uncle of Harry S Truman.
He had 14 children that lived to maturity. The youngest was born when he was 70 years old.
He halted government for two weeks after he had a boil on his left buttock lanced.
11. James Knox Polk
Graduated University of North Carolina (1818). Before the advent of anesthetics and antiseptic practices, Polk survived a gallstone operation at age 17.
He was plagued by diarrhea during his entire one term in office.
He eventually died of what was described as a “derangement of the stomach and the bowels”.
12. Zachary Taylor
No formal education. Taylor served in the regular Army for 40 years and never voted, never belonged to a political party nor took any interest in politics until he ran for president at age 62.
He was elected in the first national election held on the same day in all states (November 7, 1848).
His old Army horse, named Whitey, would often graze on the White House lawn and visitors would take horse hairs as souvenirs.
Zachary Taylor revelled in the name 'Old Rough And Ready'…the name was given to him by several DC madams.
He had, by far, the largest testicles of any president.
Died in office of gastroenteritis on July 9, 1850.
He ate cherries and ice milk on a hot day in July as they dedicated the Washington Monument. He later became sick and, his intestines exploded.
13. Millard Fillmore
No formal education. He often wore his wife’s under garments around the East Wing of the White House.
Vice President under Taylor. Fillmore did not meet Taylor until after they were elected.
When he moved into the White House, it didn't have a Bible. He insisted someone bring one in. He and his wife, Abigail, installed the first library.
He installed the first bathtub and kitchen stove in the White House.
Fillmore could not read Latin and refused an honorary degree from Oxford University, saying a person shouldn't accept a degree he couldn't read.
His enemies described him as supremely ignorant.
In his desperation to broker the Compromise of 1850, he ended up with legislation that united everyone only in their displeasure and did little to ameliorate the tensions that would eventually lead to civil war.
14. Franklin Pierce
He gave his inaugural address from memory, without the aid of notes.
He installed the first central heating system in the White House.
Franklin Pierce was arrested for running down Mrs. Nathan Lewis in his horse and buggy. She suffered minor injuries. As the President was arrested, he simply declared, "I am Mr. Pierce". He was released.
He and writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (author of “the Scarlet Letter”) were old college buddies. They were vacationing together in the White Mountains when Hawthorne died in his sleep.
He was also friends with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Had a son die in a tragic train accident and was inconsolably sad after that. Turned to drinking, a lot, after he left office.
15. James Buchanan
Graduated Dickinson College (1809). Secretary of State under Polk. In 1857
By the time Buchanan was 30 years old, he had amassed a fortune of $ 300,000. He was never married, so the duties of White House hostess were performed by his niece, Harriet Lane.
When Southern states stated their intention to withdraw from the Union, he called their actions illegal but said he had no authority to stop it.
One of his eyes was nearsighted and the other farsighted. As a result he always cocked his head to the left.
Buchanan tired of being president and refused to run for reelection. He told Lincoln he had never been more miserable and that he was thrilled to be leaving the White House.
He is rumored to be our first gay president…he lived with Alabama Senator William Rufus King for many years.
William Rufus King, was referred to by critics as his “better half,” ‘’his wife,” and “Aunt Fancy.” Around Washington, the pair were known as the “Siamese twins,” slang at the time for gays and lesbians. And when King was appointed envoy to France, in 1844, Buchanan lamented to a friend that “I have gone wooing to several gentlemen, but have not succeeded with any of them.”
16. Abraham Lincoln
No formal education. He was a theatre lover.
On April 12, 1861 Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina setting off the Civil War. Lincoln quickly mobilized the Union by executive order. January 1, 1863 he formally issued the Emancipation Proclamation. On November 19, of that same year he delivered the Gettysburg Address. On April 9, 1865 Generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant signed term of Confederate surrender at Appomattox, Virginia. Five days later, on April 14, 1865 Lincoln went to Ford's Theater to watch "Our American Cousin" and was shot by actor John Wilkes Booth. He died the next morning at Petersen's Boarding House. Lincoln was the first president to die by assassination. At 6 feet 4 inches he was the tallest president.
He was the first president to wear a beard. His son Robert Todd Lincoln, was in Washington, D.C. when Lincoln was killed, was also on the scene when President Garfield was shot in 1881, and President McKinley was assassinated in 1901. A poll of historians named Lincoln the nation's greatest president. Washington was second.
Robert Lincoln, son of President Lincoln, was saved from a nasty railroad accident by Edwin Booth. Edwin was the brother of Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth.
17. Andrew Johnson
No formal education. Vice President under Lincoln.
Johnson was married at a younger age than any other president. He was 18 on May 5, 1827 and Eliza McCardle was 16. He is the only president to serve in the Senate after his presidency.
Johnson was the first president to be impeached by the House, but on March 26, 1868 was acquitted by the Senate by a one-vote margin. He was buried beneath a willow tree he planted himself with a shoot taken from a tree at Napoleon's tomb.
The inauguration of Andrew Johnson as Abraham Lincoln's vice-president in 1865 was marred slightly by the fact that Johnson was incredibly drunk. He'd been downing whiskey in an effort to medicate himself for typhoid fever (that was his excuse, anyway) and was so far gone by the time he was sworn in that he slurred his oaths, and had to abandon his attempts to swear in new senators.
18. Ulysses Simpson Grant:
Witness to some of the bloodiest battles in history, Grant could not stomach the sight of animal blood. Rare steak nauseated him.
While president, he was arrested for driving his horse too fast and was fined $ 20.
Grant said he knew only two songs. "One was Yankee Doodle and the other wasn't."
He smoked 20 cigars a day, which probably caused the throat cancer that resulted in his death.
Ulysses S. Grant was unflatteringly known as 'Unconditional Surrender Grant',
He was also the first President to run against a woman candidate, Virginia Woodhull the nominee of the "Equal Rights Party" in 1872.
19. Rutherford B. Hayes
On September 8, 1880 Hayes arrived in San Francisco to become the first president to visit the West Coast. He was the first president to graduate from law school.
Mrs. Hayes, Lucy Ware Webb, was known as "Lemonade Lucy" because she refused to serve alcohol in the White House.
The first telephone was installed in the White House by Alexander Graham Bell himself.
There is a plaque at his birthplace in Ohio, which is now a gas station.
He had serious problems with mites that got into his beard.
Argentina and Paraguay were involved in a bloody conflict during his presidency…he mediated ownership of a large tract of land…decided for Paraguay and is now a national hero there.
The first Easter egg roll on the White House lawn was conducted by Hayes and his wife. He kept his campaign pledge and refused to run for a second term.
20. James A. Garfield
Critics said the A stood for Asshole.
Garfield was the first left-handed president. He was the last of seven presidents born in a log cabin. On election day, November 2, 1880, he was at the same time, a member of the House, Senator-elect and President-elect.
He could write Greek and Latin simultaneously…on language with his left hand, the other with his right hand.
Graduated Williams College (1856). Only 131 days after taking office, on July 12, 1881, while entering a Washington, D.C. railroad station, he was shot by Charles J. Guiteau, a disappointed office-seeker in Garfield's new administration.
After Garfield's shooting, repeated probing for the bullet with non-sterile instruments resulted in blood poisoning which eventually killed him on September 19, 1881.
21. Chester A. Arthur
The A stands for Arthur…he was Chester Arthur Arthur.
Graduated Union College (1848). Vice President under Garfield. Arthur's wife, Ellen Lewis Herndon, died before he became president, so Arthur's sister, Mary Arthur McElroy, served as White House hostess.
Arthur enjoyed walking at night and seldom went to bed before 2 A.M. He had 24 wagon loads of old furniture and junk removed from the White House before moving in.
A man-about-town, he entertained lavishly and often, and enjoyed going to nightclubs. Arthur told a temperance group that called on him at the White House, "I may be President of the United States, but my private life is my own damn business." Arthur destroyed all of his personal papers before his death.
Not only was Chester A. Arthur a very sharp dresser (he owned over 80 pairs of pants, he also insisted on taking time out from government affairs each day to change his pants…much like Chris Demm did with his socks.
22. Grover Cleveland
Dedicated the Statue of Liberty on October 28, 1886. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms. He lost the 1888 election for second term to Benjamin Harrison, despite garnering a larger popular vote.
HOW HE TOOK HIS YOUNG WIFE. He was her legal guardian…he called her “Frank”.
While sheriff of Erie County, New York, Cleveland was also the public executioner and personally hanged two murderers.
He was voted the fifth least sexy president of all time.
Since Cleveland was the sole supporter of his family during the Civil War, he paid a substitute to take his place.
The only president's child born in the White House, was Cleveland's daughter, Esther.
Grover Cleveland, was accused by his Presidential Election opposing candidate of being a draft dodger because he paid a man $150 to take his place in the war. [which was allowed under the Conscription Act of 1863].
23. Benjamin Harrison
Graduated Miami University, Oxford, Ohio (1852). Harrison grew up in a family of 13 children. He was the second president whose wife died while he was in office.
Grandson of William Henry Harrison…the one who died after giving the long speech in the cold.
He was the first president to have electric lights installed in the White House but he was scared to turn them on and off himself for fear of electrocution…he had his staffers do it.
He was voted the fourth least sexy presidents of all time.
An excellent extemporaneous speaker, he once made 140 completely different speeches in 30 days.
When the Harrisons moved into the White House, it was in such a dilapidated state that plans were made to build a new mansion elsewhere in Washington.
His last daughter, Elizabeth, was younger than his four grandchildren. Harrison was defeated for reelection by Grover Cleveland. Because of his wife's illness, he did not campaign.
24. Grover Cleveland
Ran for an unprecedented 3rd term but lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Williams Jennings Bryan. (See President #22)
25. William McKinley:
September 6, 1901 McKinley was shot twice in the chest at point blank range by Leon Czolgosz while visiting the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. He died on September 14 whispering his favorite hymn "Nearer my God to Thee."
McKinley's wife, Ida, was an epileptic and suffered a seizure during the second inaugural ball. He covered her face w/ a napkin so no one would be suspicious of what was going on and try to look at her contorting face.
He was the first president to use the telephone while campaigning He is thought to hold the record for presidential handshaking - 2,500 per hour. McKinley exercised very little.
Had he been in better shape, his doctors said he might have survived his assassin's bullets.
26. Theodore Roosevelt
Graduated Harvard College (1880) Vice President under McKinley.
As a child, Roosevelt suffered asthma attacks and was too sickly to attend school. At 42, Roosevelt was the youngest president. The teddy bear is named for him.
He lost the sight in one eye while boxing in the White House. He had a photographic memory. He could read a page in the
time it took anyone else to read a sentence.
Theodore Roosevelt kept a badger called Josiah who used to bite people.
He was the first president to travel outside the U.S. - Panama. Roosevelt craved attention. It was said that he wanted to be the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral.
At first glance, Roosevelt may be a strange choice for number one, but the guy had everything. He wasn't the best-looking president, but he was damn handsome. He was in ridiculously good shape and a rugged outdoorsman. He cared passionately about the environment, bravely lead the way into battle, and fought against corruption in every office he held. Theodore
Roosevelt was so sexy that if he slept with your girlfriend, you'd be flattered. He's part Chuck Norris (meme Chuck Norris, not actual Chuck Norris), part Evel Knievel, part John Wayne, and part Daniel Craig. He was the most popular man in America for a reason, and our sexiest president ever.
27. William Howard Taft
Graduated Yale College (1878); Cincinnati Law School (1880).
Taft is the only person to serve as both President and Chief Justice (1921-1930) of the U.S.
He inaugurated the custom of the president throwing out the first ball to start the baseball season.
Mrs. Taft was responsible for the planting of the Japanese cherry trees in Washington.
Taft, who weighed 332 pounds, got stuck in the White House bathtub the first time he used it. A larger one was ordered.
The Taft's owned the last presidential cow and the first White House automobile.
He was too large to bend over and tie his own shoes…his driver always did it for him if they were traveling anywhere…if they weren’t going out in public, he just left them untied. (No slip ons??)
28. Woodrow Wilson
His second wife, Edith, was a great-granddaughter of Pocahontas, seven times removed.
An avid golfer, Wilson used black golf balls when playing in the snow.
He is the only president buried in Washington, D.C.
Woodrow Wilson. He was in the famous Virginia Glee Club when he attended UVA, studying law.
He liked to imitate drunks and tell racist jokes w/ an Irish accent.
29. Warren Gamaliel Harding
After Harding's death, several of his high officials were linked to the "Teapot Dome" and other scandals. He was the first newspaper publisher to be elected president.
He was the first president to own a radio.
While president, Harding played golf, poker twice a week, followed baseball and boxing, and sneaked off to burlesque shows.
He once, famously, lost the White House china in a poker game.
30. Calvin Coolidge:
The only president ever born on July 4.
Vice President under Harding. Sent U.S. Marines to Nicaragua in 1925 after the outbreak of civil war.
Calvin Coolidge had two lions, a wallaby, and a pygmy hippopotamus (among others)
Despite strong party support, Coolidge announced on August 2, 1927, "I do not choose to run for president in 1928." Charles Lindbergh completed the thirst transatlantic flight in 1927.
While governor of Massachusetts, Coolidge was once punched in the eye by the mayor of Boston.
Known for being quiet but was a bit of a prankster…sometimes he would ring the buzzer at the White House, wait for all the servants to snap to attention, then run away and hide.
He was the only president sworn into office by his father, a justice of the peace and notary public.
Coolidge averaged nine hours of sleep a night and took afternoon naps of from two to four hours.
His wife recounted that a young woman sitting next to Coolidge at a dinner party confided to him she had bet she could get at least three words of conversation from him. Without looking at her he quietly retorted, "You lose."
Calvin Coolidge had a morning ritual where he enjoyed having Vaseline rubbed on his head while he ate breakfast in bed. He also had a mechanical horse installed in the White House so he could practice his horseback riding skills.
31. Herbert Clark Hoover
Graduated Stanford University (1895). Secretary of Commerce under Harding, Secretary of Commerce under Coolidge. The New York Stock Market crashed on October 29, 1929, marking the beginning of a severe economic depression that dominated the Hoover presidency.
He was the youngest member of Stanford University's first graduating class. During their first three years in the White House, the Hoovers dined alone only three times, each time on their wedding anniversary.
Herbert Hoover both had pet alligators
He didn’t like to look people in the eye and didn’t like seeing his servants. He installed a bell system…when he was walking down the hall he would ring the bell three times…that meant that he was on his way and that any servant should hide in a closet or, if they were outside, behind a bush.
Hoover was the first president to donate his salary to charity.
One of the most honored presidents, Hoover received 84 honourary degrees, 78 medals and awards, and the keys to dozens of cities.
32. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Graduated Harvard College. In 1933 Roosevelt launched the "New Deal" relief measures, revived the banking industry, and delivered the first of 30 "Fireside Chats".
The birthday cake presented to FDR on the occasion of his 59th birthday was 5 feet high and weighed 300 pounds. The cake was a gift of the Bakery and Confectionary Workers International Union of America. Along with the cake, the union donated $500 to FDR's "Fight Infantile-Paralysis" campaign.
In 1936 he was reelected in a landslide over Alfred M. Landon. In 1939 Germany overran Poland and war was declared in Europe.
In 1949 reelected to an unprecedented third term. December 7, 1941 Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Congress declared war against Japan the next day. June 6, 1944, D-Day, Allied forces landed on the Normandy coast of France.
Reelected to an unprecedented fourth term.
He was the first defeated vice presidential candidate to be elected president. He was related by blood or marriage to 11 former presidents.
In 1921, at the age of 39, Roosevelt contracted polio which left him without the use of his legs.
During a speech in 1933, an assassin shot at him five times and hit five people surrounding him, but not FDR. The mayor of Chicago was hit, and died.
A stamp collector, he received the first sheet of every new commemorative issue. In, 1939, he became the first president to appear on television. Died in office on April 12, 1945.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the 13th day of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal.
33. Harry S Truman
June 19, 1945 he flew to Washington State and became the first president to use air travel within the country. June 26, 1945 the United Nations Charter was signed. August 6, 1945 the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. The second atomic bomb was dropped August 9 on Nagasaki.
November 2, 1948 won reelection over Thomas E. Dewey in what was regarded as a major political upset.
A two-lane bowling alley was installed in the White House in 1947 as a birthday gift to President Truman. No matter that he hadn't bowled since he was 19, Truman knocked down seven pins on the first roll at the alley, which was paid for by donors from Truman's home state of Missouri and moved to the Old Executive Office Building in 1955.
Truman didn't use the alley much himself - he was more of a poker player -- but the addition was a big hit with Truman's staff, some of whom formed a bowling league.
January 20, 1953 Truman attended inauguration of President Eisenhower and then left by train for Independence, Missouri.
Once back in Missouri, he walked in on his wife, Mamie, burning all his personal letters from his time as president. He said, “what are you doing…think of history” She replied, “I am”.
Truman's mother, a Confederate sympathizer, refused to sleep in Lincoln's bed during a White House visit.
34. Dwight David Eisenhower
Graduated U.S. Military Academy, West Point New York. Held no other political office.
He hated cats. If they came near his home in Gettysburg, PA, he would shoot at them. This is after he retired from the presidency.
Dwight David Eisenhower was born David Dwight Eisenhower. He was the last president born in the 19th century.
He was the only president to serve in both World Wars.
A skilled chef, he was famous for his vegetable soup, steaks, and cornmeal pancakes.
He was the first president licensed to fly an airplane.
Eiesenhower was the first president to ever hit a hole-in-one.
37. Richard Milhous Nixon
Graduated Whittier College (1934) and Duke University Law School (1937). Vice President under Eisenhower. July 20, 1969 Neil A. Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon.
June 17, 1972, five men were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters located at the Watergate Hotel.
August 9, 1974, effective at noon, Nixon resigned as president, becoming the first president to ever voluntarily leave office. This was a direct result of the scandal created by attempting to cover up the "Watergate Affair".
A Pakistani man's gift to President Nixon required an unusual accessory to fully appreciate. S. Nabi Ahmed Rizvi provided a magnifying glass inside a plush blue velvet box, along with two snapshots of himself and two grains of rice. One grain of rice featured a portrait of Nixon as president; the other featured a portrait of a young Nixon in the Navy. The gift was displayed as part of the National Portrait Gallery's "To the President: Folk Portraits by the People" exhibit.
Richard Millhouse Nixon was the first U.S. president whose name contains all the letters in the word "criminal." William Jefferson Clinton was the second?
He was painfully shy and awkward. He asked his wife, Pat, to marry him on their first date…then he obsessively pursued her for two years until she finally said yes. He even drove her on dates w/ other men during the two year interim.
When he ran for Senate in 1950 he accused his opponent Helen Douglas of being a communist. He called her “pink right down to her underwear”.
He avoided talking to people even after he became president. He spent hours alone in his office with a yellow legal pad, jotting down lists of enemies.
He had lunch alone, at his desk, nearly every day. His meal was almost always rye crackers, skim milk, a canned Dole pineapple ring, and a scoop of cottage cheese.
38. Gerald Rudolph Ford
Graduated University of Michigan (1935) and Yale University Law School (1941). Vice President under Nixon. Appointed Nelson A. Rockefeller as vice president.
Granted Richard M. Nixon an "absolute pardon" for all federal crimes he may have committed or taken part in while president.
He was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr. Both Ford and his wife, Elizabeth "Betty" Bloomer Warren, had been models before their marriage. Ford was a model for Cosmopolitan and Look magazines in the 1940's.
Running for Congress in 1948, Ford campaigned on his wedding day.
He was the first president to release to the public a full report of his medical checkup.
Ford was the only president whose two assassination attempts against him were made by women.
Ford was the first president not elected by the people to become president.
He became vice president when Agnew resigned, and president when Nixon resigned.
He was defeated by Jimmy Carter in his bid to win a full term.
39. James Earl Carter, Jr.
The "hostage crisis" remained with Carter for the remainder of his term. Carter was the first president born in a hospital.
He was the first president graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy.
He was the first president sworn in using his nickname, "Jimmy".
He wrote a children’s book called “The Little Baby Snoogle Fleejer”.
In elections since the end of WWII, the taller of the two main party candidates has won the election 75% of the time. Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush are the only post-war presidents to have defeated taller rivals. Since 1900, nobody under the height of 5ft 9in has ever won the presidential election.
40. Ronald Wilson Reagan
Graduated Eureka College (1932). Moments after Regan was inaugurated on January 20, 1981, 52 Americans held hostage in Iran since November 1979 were released.
Ronald Reagan was 77 years old when he left office, making him the oldest president.
He was the first and only president to have been divorced.
President Reagan, who was gifted 372 belt buckles while in office, also received enough tacking equipment during his time in Washington to outfit an entire stable.
Reagan was a Hollywood actor before becoming involved in politics.
He made more than 50 movies, mostly westerns or action pictures.
41. George Herbert Walker Bush
October 15, 1991 after a bitter partisan debate, Clarence Thomas is confirmed by a 52-48 vote as Supreme Court Justice.
November 3, 1992 Bush is defeated in his bid for reelection.
When Bush received his military commission in 1943, he became, at age 19, the youngest pilot in the Navy.
Bush is related to Benedict Arnold, Marilyn Monroe, Winston Churchill, Presidents Franklin Pierce, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Gerald Ford.
Bush became the first vice president ever to serve as acting president when Ronald Reagan underwent surgery for three hours in 1985.
George Herbert Walker Bush is the second man in US Presidential history whose son became President.
In 1990, the president of Indonesia presented a Komodo dragon to President Bush. Perhaps worried that the venomous, flesh-eating lizard wouldn't play nice with Millie, the first dog, Bush donated the dragon, named Naga, to the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. Naga, who sired 32 offspring, died of an abdominal infection at the age of 24 in 2007. During his stay in Cincinnati, Naga was a star attraction, drawing about one million visits each year.
In 1992, while at a formal dinner in Japan Bush became ill and vomited on the prime minister of Japan, then fainted. Now, the word “Bushusuru” means “to do the Bush thing” and vomit heavily in Japanese.
42. William Jefferson Clinton
In 1978 when Clinton was elected governor of Arkansas, he was at the time, age 32 and the youngest governor in the U.S.
In high school, Clinton played saxophone in a jazz trio. The three musicians wore dark glasses on stage and they called themselves "Three Blind Mice".
He was the second president of the United States to be impeached by the House of Representatives.
His nickname as a child was Bubba.
He won a 2004 Grammy along w/ Sophia Loren and Mikhail Gorbachev for the group’s recording of “Peter and the Wolf”.
43. George W. Bush
Graduated Yale University (1968).
Bush worked in the energy business, and was once part owner of the Texas Rangers baseball franchise.
Bush's first initiative was the No Child Left Behind Act, a measure that raised schools standards, requiring accountability in return for tax dollars and lead to measurable gains in achievement, especially among minority students.
Most significant event during his tenure was the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States, after which began the War on Terror.
Having lost the 2000 election by more than a half-million popular votes, Bush is the first president since 1888 ( President Benjamin Harrison) to become President without winning the popular votes. Bush lost the popular vote to Al Core by 500,000 votes, then won a disputed recount in Florida by a few hundred.
George W. Bush is the second father and son to be elected as presidents in the U.S. Presidential history.
President Bush and his family received about 1,000 gifts per month during his two terms in office. Bush's haul included an iPod from U2 lead singer, Bono, "The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook" and vocabulary-building game from the Sultan of Brunei, and an electric harp with a speakerphone from Vietnam.
The most unusual gift Bush received may have been the 300 pounds of raw lamb meat from the president of Argentina in 2003. The lamb, like all gifts from overseas, was accepted by the Office of the President on behalf of the nation, and passed along to the General Services Administration. Most non-perishable gifts of state end up in presidential libraries or the National Archives.
Cowboys running back, Calvin Hill, father of Grant Hill, was a friend and fraternity brother of George W. Bush while the two were at Yale.
44. Barack Obama
Born to a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas…in Hawaii, wink wink.
Obama worked his way through college, aided also by student loans and scholarships.
Has admitted to dabbling in marijuana and cocaine while in college.
He attended Occidental College and Columbia University, and went on to attend law school and became the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review.
Loves food…loves five guys. One of the few treat type foods he does not like is ice cream…hates it, as a result of working at an ice cream shop as a teenager.
Collects Spiderman and Conan the Barbarian comic books.
