Chronological List of Presidents of the United States
This chronological list contains entries for each president, plus an interesting fact or piece of trivia.
- George Washington (1789–1797)
Born in Pope's Creek, Virginia. First lady was Martha. No children. The Constitution prohibits titles of nobility, so George Washington was addressed as "Mr. President". - John Adams (1797–1801)
Leader of the American Revolution that achieved independence from Great Britain. Vice president to George Washington. Died on the same day as Thomas Jefferson (3rd president), in the same year, on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. - Thomas Jefferson (1801–1809)
Died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson's face has been on the nickel coin since 1938. - James Madison (1809–1817)
Accredited as the "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting the 'Constitution of the United States'. Shortest president at 5 feet 4 inches. - James Monroe (1817–1825)
President for which Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia, was named after. Introduced the Monroe Doctrine which warned European nations that the United States would not tolerate further colonization. - John Quincy Adams (1825–1829)
Eldest son of John Adams, who served as the second U.S. president. - Andrew Jackson (1829–1837)
In 1806, future President Andrew Jackson killed a man in a duel but not before being wounded in the chest. - Martin Van Buren (1837–1841)
American president when Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1937. Only president to speak English as a second language... his first language was Dutch. First president born as a U.S. citizen. - William Henry Harrison (1841)
Died 32 days after becoming president from pneumonia that developed from a cold. His grandson, Benjamin Harrison, became 23rd president. - John Tyler (1841–1845)
It's an amazing fact that President John Tyler, born in 1790, has (as of December 2021) a living grandson. - James K. Polk (1845–1849)
Polk's inauguration was the first to be reported by telegraph and shown in a newspaper illustration. - Zachary Taylor (1849–1850)
A national hero and army general in the Mexican-American War and the War of 1812. - Millard Fillmore (1850–1853)
Vice president who succeeded to the presidency upon the death of U.S. President Zachary Taylor. - Franklin Pierce (1853–1857)
Incapable of steming the march towards Civil War and is the only president to keep his entire cabinet in place for the full four year term. - James Buchanan (1857–1861)
The only president who never married. - Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865)
Assassinated at the Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., by actor John Wilkes Booth. Born in Kentucky and excelled in wrestling. - Andrew Johnson (1865–1869)
Vice president at the time of Lincoln's assassination. First president to be impeached (acquitted May 1868). - Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877)
The commanding Union general during the American Civil War and led the Union Armies to victory over the Confederacy. - Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881)
Historians consider his presidency the formal end of Reconstruction, which was a period in American history that marked a significant chapter in civil rights. - James A. Garfield (1881)
Assassinated at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C., less than four months into his term as president by Charles J. Guiteau, whose motive was revenge for an imagined political debt. - Chester A. Arthur (1881–1885)
The vice president who succeeded to the presidency upon the assassination of President James A. Garfield. - Grover Cleveland (1885–1889)
Cleveland was both the 22nd and 24th president of the United States and is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms. - Benjamin Harrison (1889–1893)
Grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison (elected 1840). - Grover Cleveland (1893–1897)
At 275 pounds, he was the second-heaviest President after William Howard Taft. - William McKinley (1897–1901)
Assassinated at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, by Leon Czolgosz. - Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909)
Youngest president at the age of 42, due to the assassination of William McKinley. Awarded Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating peace in the Russo-Japanese war.
In 1903, a toy store owner advertised two stuffed bears in his shop window as Teddy bears, using Theodore Roosevelt's nickname, Teddy... the teddy bear was born. - William Howard Taft (1909–1913)
The heaviest president. At 5 feet 11 inches tall with a weight that peaked at 340 pounds. - Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921)
The United States entered World War I on December 7, 1917. Awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1920. - Warren G. Harding (1921–1923)
Died of a heart attack in San Francisco while president and was succeeded by Vice President Calvin Coolidge. - Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929)
Elected vice president in 1920, he became president following the death of Warren Harding in 1923. Nicknamed "Silent Cal" because of his quiet demeanor. - Herbert Hoover (1929–1933)
Held office during the onset of the Great Depression and the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Has been memorialised by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River. - Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945)
Franklin D. Roosevelt won four elections (1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944). He died in April 1945 just before the end of World War II. Congress passed the 22nd Amendment in 1947, which limited future presidents' to a maximum of two terms. - Harry S. Truman (1945–1953)
President at the end of WWII; Truman authorized the use of the two atomic bombs in 1945. Order U.S. forces to South Korea to repulse an invasion by communist North Korea. - Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961)
Served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe during World War II. - John F. Kennedy (1961–1963)
The youngest elected president in history, who was inaugurated at 43. President during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Assassinated on 22 November 1963, in Dallas, Texas. - Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)
Vice president who was quickly sworn in as president on Air Force One in Dallas on November 22, 1963, after John F. Kennedy was assassinated. - Richard Nixon (1969–1974)
In 1972 Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit mainland China while in office. The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of U.S. President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. - Gerald Ford (1974–1977)
Vice president from 1973 to 1974. Born Leslie Lynch King Jr. Gave a presidential pardon to Richard Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal. Vietnam War ended. - Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)
Awarded the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize "for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development." - Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)
Reagan was sometimes nicknamed 'the Gipper', after his role as George "The Gipper" Gipp in the film "Knute Rockne, All American". Was shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. in Washington, D.C., in 1981. - George H. W. Bush (1989–1993)
Served as vice president under Ronald Reagan. Presided over the Gulf War and invasion of Panama. George's 73-year marriage to his wife Barbara was the longest of any first couple. - Bill Clinton (1993–2001)
Particularly adept at playing the saxophone. Became the second president in history to be impeached. Was involved in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. - George W. Bush (2001–2009)
President at the time of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, which killed nearly 3,000 Americans. Most controversial act was the invasion of Iraq. - Barack Obama (2009–2017)
Won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples". - Donald Trump (2017–2021)
Starred in the reality TV series, "The Apprentice". The only president to be impeached twice. Trump's mother was born and raised in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, and emigrated to the United States as a young woman. - Joe Biden (2021–present)
Oldest president; took the presidential oath of office at 78 years, 61 days.
One of the oddest facts in U.S. history are the deaths of President Thomas Jefferson (3rd president) and President John Adams (2nd). Both died on the same day, in the same year, which just happened to be the 4th of July, 1826 - the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. In 1831, James Monroe, the fifth President, also died on the 4th of July.