U.S. presidential trivia

Part of our occasional series, Interesting but useless trivia. Trivia that is certainly interesting, but yeah, pretty useless in the grand scheme of things. Not likely to result in a promotion, raise, or your next big career move.

U.S. presidential trivia

Keeping the White House in the family: John Adams is the father of John Quincy Adams. William Henry Harrison is the grandfather of Benjamin Harrison. Zachary Taylor and James Madison are second cousins. Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt are fifth cousins, and Theodore is also the uncle of Franklin’s wife, Eleanor. Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter are sixth cousins. George H.W. Bush is the father of George W. Bush.

The luckiest man in the world, or the unluckiest? You decide. Amidst all the turmoil going on in the Nixon administration, Gerald Ford, a long-time Republican congressman from Michigan, ended up becoming vice president, and, shortly after, president, without having been elected to either office. He had been serving as House Minority Leader in the House of Representatives up to the time of his confirmation by the Senate to become vice president.

William Henry Harrison (1773-1841): The first president to die in office; the last president born as
a British subject; until Ronald Reagan came along in 1981, he was the oldest president to take office; only one of four presidents to be a member of the Whig Party; the grandfather of a future president; the longest inaugural address at a whopping one hour and 45 minutes long; and the shortest amount of time in office with just 30 days.

President for one day? Read about the highly-controversial yet interesting claim that David Rice Atchison, a Democratic U.S. Senator from Missouri, served as president for one day, March 4, 1849: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Rice_Atchison





More neat and fun facts about U.S. presidents and the presidency:

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ah-presidenttrivia.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States_by_political_affiliation

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/08/0823_040823_presidentialtrivia.html

http://blogs.britannica.com/2009/01/inaugural-adresses-the-longest-shortest-dumbest-and-most-memorable