U.S. President Facts

As a proud American, its important to know the history of your country. There are few figures more interesting in our nation's history than presidents. Here are a few fun U.S. president facts worth knowing.

• George Washington was the only non-contested U.S. president. He was unanimously elected. He also refused to take a salary. Later in history, a Constitutional amendment would require presidents to accept their salaries. 
• When it comes to interesting jobs before holding office, Grover Cleveland might be the winner. He was the Sherriff of Erie County and more than once had to serve as the hangman for criminals sentenced to death for their crimes.
• Coming in close for odd jobs after Cleveland was Abraham Lincoln as a bartender. He was the co-owner of a saloon called Berry and Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois.
• While many presidents have served more than the elected four years of a term, Grover Cleveland is the only one to serve them non-consecutively. Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of America.
• While most middle initials have meaning, Harry S. Truman is an exception. The S was a nod to his grandfathers but didn't stand for any one name in particular.
• James Buchanan was the only president not married during the time he served in the Oval Office.
• Thomas Jefferson and John Adams once traveled to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare. They committed a bit of vandalism by carving wood chips out of Shakespeare's chair as souvenirs.
• One of the more obscure U.S. president facts, Andrew Johnson was a tailor before his presidency and continued to make his own suits during his time in office.
• George Washington is the only president never affiliated with a political party. He served as an independent before that was an accepted political party.
• Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Monroe all passed away on the 4th of July in different years.
• The first president to speak on a telephone was James Abraham Garfield speaking directly to the inventor, Alexander Graham Bell.

The most common name for a president is James with six presidents under that name being elected: Madison, Monroe, Polk, Buchanan, Garfield, and Carter.

• While many presidents served in the military, Dwight D. Eisenhower was the only president to have served in both World War I and World War II.
• Richard Nixon was the first president to travel to all 50 states. He was also the first ever to visit China.
• Richard Nixon was also the only president to ever resign from the job. Only two presidents have been impeached as the other means of leaving office outside of the end of term or death. Bill Clinton was impeached in 1993 with the only other impeachment in history being Andrew Johnson 131 years prior.
• Eight presidents have died while serving their presidential term. The deaths ranged from assassination to strokes and heart attacks. The eight presidents who passed away during their terms were William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, Warren G. Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy.
• One of the easiest U.S. president facts to remember is the shortest and tallest of the bunch. James Madison was the shortest president coming in at 5 feet 4 inches while the tallest at 6 feet 4 inches was Abraham Lincoln.
• The youngest president to assume the role of Commander in Chief was Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt at the age of 42 with John F. Kennedy coming in second at 43 years old. The oldest president at the start of their term is Donald Trump at 70 years old while Ronald Reagan was the oldest serving president. Regan was 73 when his second term ended.
• No president has ever been an only child. The president with the most siblings was James Buchanan with 10 brothers and sisters.
• John Tyler had the most children of any president with a brood of 15 children.