Who was the longest serving US president: interesting facts about US leaders

The next presidential election is coming to an end in the United States. The winner of this campaign (and it is likely to be Donald Trump) will become the 47th head of state.

This position first appeared in the United States in 1789, two years after the adoption of the Constitution and three years after the Declaration of Independence. OBOZ.UA recalls interesting facts about each of the American leaders.

George Washington (1789-1797)

The Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army did not win a single battle in which he participated. His tactic was always to flee the battlefield. However, Washington remains the only head of state to be unanimously supported by the electoral college. One of the Founding Fathers of the United States never lived in the White House and did not belong to any political party.

John Adams (1797-1801)

It was his signature that stood under the Treaty of Paris that ended the War of Independence.

Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)

Jefferson is called the main author of the Declaration of Independence. He founded the Military Academy at West Point, and during his term, the state of Louisiana was purchased. Jefferson's inauguration was the first to be held in Washington.

James Madison (1809-1817)

At the beginning of his presidency, he banned trade with England and France because of their economic policies toward the United States, which led to a war with the British, which America won.

James Monroe (1817-1825)

The era of his rule is called the "era of good will." He introduced the Monroe Doctrine: the principle of non-interference of European states in the affairs of the American continent, and the United States in European ones. During his presidency, the United States acquired Florida from Spain.

John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)

He lost the election by electoral vote but was brought to power by the House of Representatives. This precedent is still the only one in history.

Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)

Founded the Democratic Party of the United States. He was a supporter of the slave system and also supported the removal of Indians. He liquidated the Second Bank of the United States. During a duel, Jackson was shot in the chest, which remained in his body for the rest of his life.

Martin van Buren (1837-1841)

The only U.S. president whose native language was not English – since childhood, Van Buren spoke Dutch. Nevertheless, he was the first president to hold US citizenship

William Henry Harrison (1841-1841)

The last president was born before the War of Independence. And the first to die in office – Harrison's term lasted only 32 days. He died of a cold he caught during his inaugural address.

John Tyler (1841-1845)

He had the most children among US presidents. Tyler had eight heirs from his first wife, and seven from his second... His 15th child was born when the president was over 70.

James Knox Polk (1845-1849)

He added many new territories to the United States (Upper California and New Mexico were conquered – the lands of the modern states of California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah; Great Britain ceded Oregon). However, this was one of the reasons for the Civil War.

Zachary Taylor (1849-1850)

Due to poor health, he served only a little over a year.

Millard Fillmore (1850-1853)

He became the first vice president to come to power after the removal of the head of state.

Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)

During Pierce's presidency, the United States acquired from Mexico the land south of the Hila River and west of the Rio Grande with an area of 76,845 square kilometers. The armed conflict in Kansas during his term was called a "rehearsal for the Civil War."

James Buchanan (1857-1861)

When 11 states formed the Confederate States of America, the president did not oppose it. Because of this, the Civil War broke out.

Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)

The first US president to be assassinated in office. Lincoln's style was characterized by a tall black top hat. He carried important documents in his hat. He made a key contribution to the victory of the North in the Civil War. It was Lincoln who signed the Emancipation Proclamation and the Homestead Act.

Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)

He never went to school, his wife taught him to read. Johnson is considered the final victor of slavery in the United States, although he was not a popular president.

Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)

Grant is remembered not as a politician but as a heavy smoker. He smoked 20 cigars a day and predictably died of throat cancer.

Rutherford Hayes (1877-1881)

Hayes lost his election and was brought to the White House only after the army, led by Ulysses S. Grant, intervened in parliamentary debates.

James Garfield (1881-1881)

He spent only 100 days in office before being shot dead. It was the second shortest presidential term in U.S. history.

Chester Alan Arthur (1881-1885)

He was vice president under James Garfield and succeeded him after his assassination. He was the first to pass a federal immigration law. The document restricted entry to the United States to low-income people, criminals, and the insane.

Grover Cleveland (1885-1889 and 1893-1897)

He was the only president to hold the office for two consecutive terms. Since Cleveland was unmarried at the time of his election, his sister Rose took over as First Lady.

Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)

He became famous as a non-progressive president from all points of view. For example, he demanded that in his presence in the White House, electric lights should not be turned on, but candles should be lit. During his term, the US economy deteriorated and Harrison lost the election to his predecessor.

William McKinley (1897-1901)

During his presidency, America abandoned the Monroe Doctrine and began to participate in wars again. He was the first to conduct his political campaign by telephone. At the beginning of his second term, he was assassinated while visiting a Pan-American exhibition.

Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)

After his death, McKinley came to power as his vice president. He became the first American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded in 1906 "for mediating the conclusion of the Russo-Japanese Portsmouth Peace Treaty." A popular toy, the Teddy bear, was named after Roosevelt.

William Howard Taft (1909-1913)

On the one hand, Taft entered into trade agreements with various countries, and on the other hand, he contributed to the adoption of the failed "China Project," which consisted of the United States' expansion into China to prevent Japan's growing influence in the region. He was one of the heaviest presidents of America, weighing over 135 kg.

Thomas Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)

He led America through World War I, although at first, he did not want to join it. He was one of the most influential participants in the Paris Peace Conference. He initiated the creation of the League of Nations, which, however, the United States did not join due to the resistance of Republicans in Congress. On December 23, 1913, he signed a law establishing the Federal Reserve System, which is still in operation today. Under Wilson, Prohibition was introduced in the United States. In the last two years of his presidency, he suffered a stroke and was incapacitated. He became the first American president to earn a doctorate.

Warren Harding (1921-1923)

He was the first U.S. president to be elected after American women gained the right to vote. He helped Ukraine and Russia during the famine of 1921-1923. He died in office after his administration's abuses were exposed.

Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)

Replaced Harding as his vice president. He took care of his health, sleeping 10-11 hours a day to treat and prevent stomach ailments.

Herbert Clark Hoover (1929-1933)

During his presidency, the Great Depression hit, which prevented Hoover from carrying out the planned reforms. During his life, he wrote two dozen books.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-1945)

The only U.S. president to be elected to the office more than twice. He served four terms in office, the longest in history. In 1932, he was elected president under the slogan of fighting the Great Depression. After the Nazis came to power in Germany, he tried to pursue a policy of neutrality, but later led the United States into war. He signed the Lend-Lease Act. Franklin Roosevelt served as Commander-in-Chief of the US Army and took an active part in all the conferences of the Big Three. He died of a stroke at the beginning of his fourth term. After Roosevelt's death, the 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution was introduced, which limited the maximum number of presidential terms to two. He was related to as many as 11 of his predecessors.

Harry Truman (1945-1953)

After Roosevelt's death, he became the head of state as the current vice president. He made the decision to nuclearize Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He was the author of the Truman Doctrine, which was intended to contain the USSR, but in fact, became one of the reasons for the beginning of the Cold War. He kept a tame goat in the White House.

Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961)

During his presidency, the "witch hunt" against communists in the United States began. Racial conflicts also intensified. Eisenhower was a supporter of the arms race with the USSR.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1961-1963)

He was one of the richest and most popular U.S. presidents, the first Catholic to hold the office. It was not without Kennedy's efforts that the Cuban Missile Crisis was resolved, serious progress was made in the struggle for black rights, and the "Apollo" program was launched to land on the moon. Kennedy was the first president to broadcast his press conferences live on television. He was famous for his numerous extramarital affairs. In particular, it was rumored that Kennedy met with actress Marilyn Monroe. He was shot dead during a trip to Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. The reasons for the assassination are still unknown, which is why Kennedy's death gave rise to a lot of conspiracy theories.

Lyndon Johnson (1963-1969)

He became president as a result of JFK's assassination as his vice president. He took the oath of office on an airplane, aboard Air Force One. Later he was elected head of state. He was eligible to run for a third term but did not do so because he lost popularity due to the US intervention in the Vietnam War.

Richard Nixon (1969-1974)

The only US president to resign early. It happened at the beginning of his second term. Nixon faced impeachment over the Watergate scandal, a case of illegal wiretapping of political opponents' offices. During Nixon's presidency, Americans landed on the moon for the first time. He was the first president to visit all 50 states.

Gerald Ford (1974-1977)

He headed the White House as Nixon's vice president. The only head of state in US history who was not elected by popular vote to either the vice presidency or the presidency. At the age of 12, Ford learned that he was adopted.

Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)

He tried to save the United States from a protracted crisis and stagflation but to no avail. His presidency was marked by the deterioration of diplomatic relations with the USSR as a result of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In particular, in 1980 the United States boycotted the Olympic Games in Moscow. He implemented the doctrine according to which the Persian Gulf region was declared a zone of influence of the United States.

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)

He came to politics from acting. Successfully overcame the crisis of the seventies with a policy of reducing inflation and unemployment, weakening the role of the state in the economy, which was called Reaganomics. He improved relations with the USSR after Mikhail Gorbachev was elected Secretary General. He became the first divorced man to hold the presidency. He was the first to appoint a woman to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sandra Day O'Connor.

George Herbert Walker Bush (1989-1993)

During his presidency, the United States finally won the Cold War. Bush Sr. promoted the reunification of Germany and welcomed the collapse of the USSR. In his honor, American humanitarian aid to the countries of the former Soviet Union in the form of frozen chicken was called "Bush's legs."

Bill Clinton (1993-2001)

The first US president whose inauguration was broadcast live on the Internet, but Clinton himself was not an active user of the Web. During his presidency, Clinton used e-mail only twice. The end of Clinton's second presidential term was marked by a sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky, which almost led to his impeachment. He signed the Budapest Memorandum on the nuclear disarmament of Ukraine, making the United States its guarantor.

George Walker Bush (2001-2009)

In the first year of Bush's presidency, the September 11 tragedy occurred, which led to a policy of active struggle against terrorism, which led to the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan by US forces. He is remembered for his numerous reservations and inappropriate comments.

Barack Obama (2009-2017)

The first black president of the United States. In the first year of his presidency, he received the Nobel Peace Prize "for his great efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation among nations." The press criticized this decision and called it an advance of his campaign promises to withdraw US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama did not fulfill these promises. He tries not to mention his Nobel Prize.

Donald Trump (2017-2021)

He became the first US president to win an election without political or military experience. He became widely known as a producer and host of reality television shows. He played cameos in movies and TV series. His most famous roles are in the sequel to the comedy Home Alone and the TV series Sex and the City. More than 20 women have accused Trump of sexual harassment. After the results of the 2024 presidential election are finalized, he will become the oldest president of the United States, being 78 years old at the time of his swearing-in.

Joe Biden (since 2021)

The current oldest president of the United States – at the time of the oath, Biden was 77 years old.

Subscribe to OBOZ.UA channels on Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events.