In following the upcoming U.S. presidential primaries/election, I realized that although I can name most of the 44 presidents of the United States, I’m useless when it comes to chronology and individual achievements (Jeopardy also highlights this void in my memory). I know there are millions of existing resources (a Google search for “US Presidents list” returns 4.5M results), but I’ve realized that any long-term commitment to memory requires my own research, writing, organization, and publicizing. So with that being said, here’s a chronological list of all Presidents of the United States, including full names, terms dates, and some major achievements worth remembering. I’ll take ‘U.S. Presidents’ for $200, Alex.
- George Washington (1789-1797, No Party) – 1st president, Commander-in-Chief of Continental Army, presided of Constitutional Convention (1787), oversaw Bill of Rights adoption (1791), opposed idea of political parties, only president elected unanimously, only president that did not live in White House, 5 states added to Union during presidency (13+5=18), refused 3rd term, planned move of capitol from Philadelphia to DC, Freemasonry, Mount Vernon, died in 1799
- John Adams (1797-1801)
- Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)
- James Madison (1809-1817)
- James Monroe (1817-1825)
- John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)
- Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)
- Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)
- William Henry Harrison (1841)
- John Tyler (1841-1845, Whig / No Party) – first president born under the administration of another president, lawyer, first vice president to be elevated to the office of president by the death of his predecessor, nicknamed “His Accidency”, “Log-Cabin” bill, first president whose wife died while he was in office, second wife started “Hail to the Chief” tradition, withstood impeachment attempt, oversaw annexation of Texas, later sided with Confederate government, lived on the Sherwood Forest Plantation, fathered more children than any other president (15 total), last words were “I am going. Perhaps it is best.”
- James Knox Polk (1845-1849)
- Zachary Taylor (1849-1850)
- Millard Fillmore (1850-1853) – Former VP, assumed presidency after Zachary Taylor’s death, one of five presidents never inaugurated, entire cabinet resigned when he became president, last member of Whig Party to become president, established 1st permanent library in White House, co-founded University of Buffalo, Unitarian, was a lawyer although he had no formal education, signed controversial Compromise of 1850 (5 separate bills) into law which including admitting California to the union, opposed Lincoln during the Civil War
- Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)
- James Buchanan (1857-1861)
- Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)
- Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)
- Ulysses Simpson Grant (1869-1877)
- Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1877-1881)
- James Abram Garfield (1881)
- Chester Alan Arthur (1881-1885)
- Grover Cleveland (1885-1889)
- Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)
- Grover Cleveland (1893-1897)
- William McKinley (1897-1901)
- Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)
- William Howard Taft (1909-1913)
- Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
- Warren Gamaliel Harding (1921-1923)
- Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)
- Herbert Clark Hoover (1929-1933)
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-1945)
- Harry S. Truman (1945-1953)
- Dwight David Eisenhower (1953-1961)
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1961-1963)
- Lyndon Baines Johnson (1963-1969)
- Richard Milhous Nixon (1969-1974)
- Gerald Rudolph Ford (1974-1977)
- James Earl Carter, Jr. (1977-1981)
- Ronald Wilson Reagan (1981-1989)
- George Herbert Walker Bush (1989-1993)
- William Jefferson Clinton (1993-2001)
- George Walker Bush (2001-2009)
- Barack Hussein Obama (2009-Present, Democrat) – Former Illinois senator, first African-American president, $787B ARRA stimulus package, ended Iraq War, Osama bin Laden death, repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
Other References / Websites
kevin berardinelli 