PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY
U.S. Presidents
Explore the presidents of the United States through genealogy records, life details, and historical events.
PRESIDENTIAL TIMELINE
Presidents & Milestones
22 February 1732, Pope's Creek, Westmoreland, Virginia, USA - 14 December 1799, Mount Vernon, Fairfax, Virginia, USA
On April 30, 1789, in a deep, low voice, George Washington gave his first speech as president of the United States. This speech is now known as the first presidential inaugural address. He spoke to a joint session of Congress that had gathered in Federal Hall (New York...
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Source www.americaslibrary.gov
30 October 1735, Braintree, Massachusetts, USA - 4 July 1826, Quincy, Massachusetts, USA
The presidential election was the first contested election in the United States. When the final tabulation of votes arrived at the senate, ironically it was Adams who opened the envelope as he was President of the Senate. John Adams won with seventy one votes and Thomas...
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Source www.john-adams-heritage.com/ presidency/
13 April 1743, Shadwell, Albermarie, Virginia, USA - 4 July 1826, Monticello, Virginia, USA
On February 17, 1801, Thomas Jefferson was elected president of the United States, but there was more to it than beating his opponent. When Thomas Jefferson ran for president, he beat his opponent, John Adams, but he tied with his running mate, Aaron Burr. So, who was to be ...
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Source www.americaslibrary.gov
16 March 1751, Port Conway, Virginia, USA - 28 June 1836, Montpelier, Orange, Virginia, USA
In 1809, Madison succeeded Jefferson as president, defeating Charles C. Pinckney. His wife, Dolley Payne Todd, whom he married in 1794, brought a new social sparkle to the executive mansion. In the meantime, increasing tension with Britain culminated in the War of 1812—a...
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Source www.infoplease.com
28 April 1758, , Virginia, USA - 4 July 1831, Manhattan, New York, USA (New York City) (New Amsterdam) (Washington Heights)
Elected president in 1816 over the Federalist Rufus King, and reelected without opposition in 1820, Monroe, the last of the Virginia dynasty, pursued the course of systematic tranquilization that won for his administrations the name “the era of good feeling.” He continued...
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Source www.infoplease.com
11 July 1767, Braintree, Massachusetts, USA - 23 February 1848, Washington, DC, USA
When no presidential candidate received a majority of electoral votes in 1824, Adams, with the support of Henry Clay, was elected by the House in 1825 over Andrew Jackson, who had the original plurality. Adams had ambitious plans of government activity to foster internal...
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Source www.infoplease.com
15 March 1767, Lancaster, Waxhaws, South Carolina, USA - 8 June 1845, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
As president, Jackson greatly expanded the power and prestige of the presidential office and carried through an unprecedented program of domestic reform, vetoing the bill to extend the United States Bank, moving toward a hard-money currency policy, and checking the program...
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Source www.infoplease.com
5 December 1782, Kinderhook, New York, USA - 24 July 1862, Kinderhook, New York, USA
In 1832, Van Buren became vice president; in 1836, president. The Panic of 1837 overshadowed his term. He attributed it to the overexpansion of the credit and favored the establishment of an independent treasury as repository for the federal funds. In 1840, he established a ...
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Source www.infoplease.com
9 February 1773, Charles City, Virginia, USA - 4 April 1841, Washington, DC, USA
Nominated for president in 1835 as a military hero whom the conservative politicians hoped to be able to control, he ran surprisingly well against Van Buren in 1836. Four years later, he defeated Van Buren but caught pneumonia and died in Washington on April 4, 1841, a...
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29 March 1790, Charles City, Virginia, USA - 18 January 1862, Richmond, Virginia, USA
Elected vice president on the Whig ticket in 1840, Tyler succeeded to the presidency on Harrison's death. His strict-constructionist views soon caused a split with the Henry Clay wing of the Whig party and a stalemate on domestic questions. Tyler's more considerable...
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Source www.infoplease.com
2 November 1795, Pineville, Mecklenburg, North Carolina, USA - 15 June 1849, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
When James K. Polk accepted the Democratic Party's nomination for the presidency, he was not very well known. The Whig opposition party played on his obscurity, sniping, "Who is James K. Polk?" An experienced speaker, Polk surprised everyone when he campaigned vigorously...
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Source www.americaslibrary.gov
24 November 1784, Barboursville, Montebello, Orange County, Virginia, USA - 9 July 1850, Washington, DC, USA
1849 - March 4 - Zachary Taylor (1784-1850) becomes 12th President of the United States. He dies in office after 16 months.
During the revival of the slavery controversy, which was to result in the Compromise of 1850, Taylor began to take an increasingly firm stand against appeasing the South; but he died in Washington on July 9, 1850, during the fight over the Compromise.
Source www.infoplease.com
7 January 1800, Locke, Cayuga, New York, USA - 8 March 1874, Buffalo, New York, USA
As president, Fillmore associated himself with the pro-Southern Whigs, supporting the Compromise of 1850. Defeated for the Whig nomination in 1852, he ran for president in 1856 as candidate of the American, or Know-Nothing, Party, which sought to unite the country against...
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Source www.infoplease.com
23 November 1804, Hillsborough, New Hampshire, USA - 8 October 1869, Concord, New Hampshire, USA (East, West) (Penacook) (Concord Heights)
1853 - March 4 - Franklin Pierce (1804-1869) becomes 14th President of the United States
As president, Pierce followed a course of appeasing the South at home and of playing with schemes of territorial expansion abroad. The failure of his foreign and domestic policies prevented his renomination.
Source www.infoplease.com
23 April 1791, Cove Gap, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, USA - 1 June 1868, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA
He was elected president in 1856, defeating John C. Frémont, the Republican candidate, and former President Millard Fillmore of the American Party. The growing crisis over slavery presented Buchanan with problems he lacked the will to tackle. His appeasement of the South...
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Source www.infoplease.com
12 February 1809, , Kentucky, USA - 15 April 1865, Washington, DC, USA
Lincoln's inaugural address was stirring. He appealed for the preservation of the Union. To retain his support in the North without further alienating the South, he called for compromise. He promised he would not initiate force to maintain the Union or interfere with...
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Source www.americaslibrary.gov
27 April 1822, Point Pleasant, Ohio, USA - 23 July 1885, Saratoga, New York, USA (Schuylerville) (Victory)
In 1868, as Republican candidate for president, Grant was elected over the Democrat, Horatio Seymour. From the start, Grant showed his unfitness for the office. His cabinet was weak, his domestic policy was confused, and many of his intimate associates were corrupt. The...
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Source www.infoplease.com
4 October 1822, Delaware, Ohio, USA - 17 January 1893, Fremont, Ohio, USA
On the night of the 1876 presidential election, Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes went to bed early. He assumed that he had lost the election to his opponent, Democrat Samuel J. Tilden. Tilden did win the popular vote that night, but the Republicans challenged the...
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Source www.americaslibrary.gov
19 November 1831, Orange, Cuyahoga, Ohio, USA - 19 September 1881, Elberon, New Jersey, USA
In 1880, Garfield was elected to the Senate, but instead became the presidential candidate on the 36th ballot as a result of a deadlock in the Republican convention. In the election, he defeated Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock, the Democratic candidate. Garfield's...
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Source www.infoplease.com
5 October 1829, Fairfield, Vermont, USA (East) (Fairfield Station) (Saint Rocks) - 18 November 1886, Manhattan, New York, USA (New York City) (New Amsterdam) (Washington Heights)
In 1880 Arthur was nominated for vice president in the hope of conciliating the followers of Grant and the powerful New York machine. As president upon Garfield's death, Arthur, stepping out of his familiar role as spoilsman, backed civil service reform, reorganized the...
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Source www.inofplease.com
18 March 1837, Caldwell, Essex, New Jersey, USA - 24 June 1908, Princeton, Mercer, New Jersey, USA
In 1884 Grover Cleveland won the Democratic nomination for president. The campaign contrasted Cleveland's spotless public career with the uncertain record of James G. Blaine, the Republican candidate, and Cleveland received enough Mugwump (independent Republican) support to ...
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Source www.infoplease.com
20 August 1833, North Bend, Hamilton County, Ohio, USA - 13 March 1901, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
In 1888, Benjamin Harrison received the Republican nomination for president on the eighth ballot. Though behind on the popular vote, he won over Grover Cleveland in the electoral college by 233 to 168.
As president, Harrison failed to please either the bosses or the...
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Source www.infoplease.com
18 March 1837, Caldwell, Essex, New Jersey, USA - 24 June 1908, Princeton, Mercer, New Jersey, USA
1893 - March 4 - Grover Cleveland (1837–1908) becomes President of the United States
29 January 1843, Niles, Trumbull, Ohio, USA - 14 September 1901, Buffalo, New York, USA
With the support of Mark Hanna, a shrewd Cleveland businessman interested in safeguarding tariff protection, William McKinley became governor of Ohio in 1892 and Republican presidential candidate in 1896. The business community, alarmed by the progressivism of William...
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Source www.infoplease.com
27 October 1858, Manhattan, New York, USA (New York City) (New Amsterdam) (Washington Heights) - 6 January 1919, Oyster Bay, New York, USA (Massapequa)
Assuming the presidency of the assassinated McKinley in 1901, Roosevelt embarked on a wide-ranging program of government reform and conservation of natural resources. He ordered antitrust suits against several large corporations, threatened to intervene in the anthracite...
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Source www.infoplease.com
15 September 1857, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA (Losanteville) - 8 March 1930, Washington, DC, USA
1909 - March 4 - William Howard Taft (1857-1930) becomes 27th President of the United States
When Teddy Roosevelt prepared to retire his presidency, this popular and influential politician promoted Taft as the next Republican president. Taft was elected president in 1908, serving one term.
Source www.americaslibrary.gov
28 December 1856, Staunton, Virginia, USA - 3 February 1924, Washington, DC, USA
Wilson became the 28th president of the United States, serving two consecutive terms in the White House, from 1913 to 1921. During his time in office, Wilson faced many challenges at home and abroad, and face them he did.
The issue of women's suffrage confronted Wilson...
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Source www.americaslibrary.gov
2 November 1865, Blooming Grove, Ohio, USA - 2 August 1923, San Francisco, California, USA
When the 1920 convention was deadlocked between Leonard Wood and Frank O. Lowden, Harding became the dark-horse nominee on his solemn affirmation that there was no reason in his past that he should not be. Straddling the League question, Harding was easily elected over...
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Source www.infoplease.com
4 July 1872, Plymouth, Vermont, USA (Tyson) (Plymouth Notch) (Plymouth Union) - 5 January 1933, Northampton, Massachusetts, USA (Florence)
After Warren Harding's death Vice-President Coolidge became President and handled the Washington scandals with care and finally managed to save the Republican Party from public blame for the widespread corruption.
In 1924, Coolidge was elected without difficulty,...
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Source www.infoplease.com
10 August 1874, West Branch, Cedar, Iowa, USA - 20 October 1964, Manhattan, New York, USA (New York City) (New Amsterdam) (Washington Heights)
In the election of 1928, Hoover overwhelmed Gov. Alfred E. Smith of New York, the Democratic candidate and the first Roman Catholic to run for the presidency. He soon faced the worst depression in the nation's history, but his attacks upon it were hampered by his devotion...
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Source www.infoplease.com
30 January 1882, Hyde Park, New York, USA - 12 April 1945, Warm Springs, Georgia, USA
In 1932, Roosevelt received the Democratic nomination for president and immediately launched a campaign that brought new spirit to a weary and discouraged nation. He defeated Hoover by a wide margin. His first term was characterized by an unfolding of the New Deal program,...
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Source www.infoplease.com
8 May 1884, Lamar, Barton, Missouri, USA - 26 December 1972, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Elected vice president in 1944, Truman became president upon Roosevelt's sudden death in April 1945 and was immediately faced with the problems of winding down the war against the Axis and preparing the nation for postwar adjustment. Germany surrendered on May 8, and in...
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Source www.infoplease.com
14 October 1890, Denison, Grayson County, Texas, USA - 28 March 1969, Abilene, Dickinson, Kansas, USA
At the Republican convention of 1952 in Chicago, Eisenhower won the presidential nomination on the first ballot in a close race with Sen. Robert A. Taft of Ohio. In the election, he defeated Gov. Adlai E. Stevenson of Illinois.
Through two terms, Eisenhower hewed to...
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Source www.infoplease.com
29 May 1917, Brookline, Massachusetts, USA - 22 November 1963, Dallas, Texas, USA
On November 22, 1963, when he was hardly past his first thousand days in office, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was killed by an assassin's bullets as his motorcade wound through Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was the youngest man elected President; he was the youngest to die...
In...
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Source www,whitehouse.gov
27 August 1908, Stonewall, Texas, USA - 22 January 1973, Johnson City, Texas, USA
At the height of his power as Senate leader, Johnson sought the Democratic nomination for president in 1960. When he lost to John F. Kennedy, he surprised even some of his closest associates by accepting second place on the ticket.
Johnson was riding in another car in...
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Source www.infoplease.com
9 January 1913, Yorba Linda, California, USA - 22 April 1994, Manhattan, New York, USA (New York City) (New Amsterdam) (Washington Heights)
Richard Nixon's presidency, which lasted from 1969 to 1974, was marked by significant achievements and controversies. Nixon, a Republican, implemented several key domestic policies, including the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Clean Air Act, ...
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14 July 1913, Omaha, Nebraska, USA - 29 December 2006, Rancho Mirage, Riverside County, California, USA
Gerald Ford served as the 38th President of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He assumed office following the resignation of Richard Nixon amid the Watergate scandal, making him the first person to become president without being elected as either president or vice...
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1 October 1924, Plains, Georgia, USA - 29 December 2024, Plains, Georgia, USA
Jimmy Carter served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A Democrat and former governor of Georgia, Carter's presidency was marked by efforts to address the energy crisis, promote human rights, and reform government. He achieved notable successes in ...
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6 February 1911, Tampico, Illinois, USA - 5 June 2004, Los Angeles, California, USA
Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, served from 1981 to 1989. His presidency was marked by significant changes in American politics and policy, often described under the umbrella term "Reaganomics." This economic strategy focused on tax cuts,...
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12 June 1924, Milton, Massachusetts, USA - 30 November 2018, Houston, Texas, USA
George H. W. Bush served as the 41st President of the United States from 1989 to 1993. His presidency was marked by significant foreign policy achievements, including the end of the Cold War, the successful Gulf War against Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, and the signing of the...
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William Jefferson Clinton, commonly known as Bill Clinton, served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he was known for his centrist policies and efforts to balance economic growth with social welfare.
Clinton's...
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George W. Bush served as the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. His presidency was marked by significant events and policies, both domestically and internationally.
Domestically, Bush implemented tax cuts and aimed to reform education through the No...
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Barack Obama's presidency, spanning from 2009 to 2017, was marked by significant legislative and social milestones. As the first African American president, he focused on healthcare reform, resulting in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that expanded health insurance coverage...
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Donald J. Trump served as the 45th President of the United States from January 20, 2017, to January 20, 2021. A businessman and television personality before entering politics, Trump ran a campaign centered on promises to "Make America Great Again," focusing on issues like...
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Joseph Biden became the 46th President of the United States in January 2021, succeeding Donald Trump. His presidency has been marked by efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic, including a massive vaccination campaign and economic relief measures. Biden has also focused on ...
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