February 21st, 2011 10:13 AM by Eric Fang
Fun Facts about the Presidency
1)Chances are you know that Barack Obama is the 44th president. But did you know he’s only the 43rd person to hold the office? That’s because Grover Cleveland was elected to two non-consecutive terms as president - so he’s listed as the 22nd and the 24th president. As a result, the number of people who held office is actually one less than the number of presidents the United States has had.
2)First president to live in the White House?Officially, 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 wasn’t 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.
3)Tallest president?The tallest president of the United States was Abraham Lincoln, who stood 6 feet, 4 inches tall. Conversely, the shortest president was James Madison, who was only 5 feet, 4 inches tall - an entire foot shorter than Lincoln.
4)First president to be born as a US citizen?Martin Van Buren was the first president to be born as a citizen of the newly created United States of America. The seven presidents prior to Van Buren (Washington, J. Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, J.Q. Adams, and Jackson) were considered British subjects. Incidentally, William Henry Harrison, who took office immediately after Van Buren was also born as a British subject. It’s also interesting to note that Abraham Lincoln was the first president born outside of the original colonies. Herbert Hoover was the first president born west of the Mississippi River. And, finally, Richard Nixon was the first and only president born in California.
5)Youngest president?This is another tricky one. Theodore Roosevelt was actually the youngest president of the United States. He was only 42 years old when he took office; however, he became president after William McKinley died in office. John F. Kennedy was the youngest president ever "elected" to office. He was only 43 years old when he was elected president in November of 1960. So depending on how you interpret the question, either answer could be correct. On the flip side, Ronald Reagan was the oldest president. He was 69 when he took office and 77 when he left.
6)Born on July 4th?The only president to be born on the Fourth of July was Calvin Coolidge, who was born on July 4, 1872. However, three presidents died on this national holiday. Both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826. And James Monroe died on July 4, 1831.
7)Lost the popular vote, but was still elected president?John Quincy Adams was actually voted into office by the House in 1824 after the general election failed to produce a majority of the electoral votes. In addition, Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876, Benjamin Harrison in 1888, and most recently George W. Bush in 2000 also took office despite losing the popular vote.