American Presidents(updated 5-2-2013) American Presidents -- by Richard Sibley, excerpted from the Rockford Register Star 1 ... How many presidents has the nation had ? There have been 44 presidents in 236 years Correction: While President Obama is labeled as our 44th President, there have actually only been 43 men who have served as president. We count Grover Cleveland’s two non-consecutive terms separately, identifying him as both our 22nd and 24th President. Thank you Mike Purdy http://purdyspresidentialhistory.blogspot.com/2012/12/how-many-men-have-... 2 ... Which president tried to run away to sea at age 14 ? George Washington. At 16, he became a surveyor. By 21 he was an officer in the British Army. At 43, things had changed,and he became the commander of the first U.S. Army. At 57, he became the new nation's first president and served two terms. At 65, he refused a third term and set a precedent that lasted until Franklin Roosevelt went for not three but four terms. 3 ... Which president kept a pet alligator in the White House ? John Quincy Adams, the 5th president and son of John Adams,the 2nd president. The gator was a gift from the Marquis de Lafayette of France. 4 ... How many future presidents were among the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence ? John Adams and Thomas Jefferson; Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration. William Henry Harrison who was the 9th president. His grandson, Benjamin Harrison, was the 23rd president. William Henry, who had 10 children with his wife is said to have fathered 6 children with a slave, also has the distinction of serving the shortest presidential term. He died of pneumonia and septicemia 30 days after taking office. James Polk, the 11th president and the first for whom we have photographs, died of cholera three months after leaving the White House. Forty Three, all but George washington. The White House was not built yet when he served. .................................................................... Andrew Jackson, the 7th president. A man named Richard Lawrence fired at him twice, but both times the gun misfired. Lawrence was declared insane and institutionalized. Zachary Taylor, the 12th president, known as a 'sure shot' with tobacco juice. He never voted until he voted for himself in 1848 (before that he never lived in one place long enough to register). He was the first president from a state west of the Mississippi. Millard Fillmore, 13th president, apprenticed to a cloth maker; and, Andrew Johnson, 17th president, apprenticed to a tailor. Neither found it a pleasant part of their youth. Andrew Johnson who also asked that his copy of the Constitution be placed under his head. Ulysses S Grant, the 18th president. Chester Arthur, the 21st, whose fishing trips drew ridicule from his political opponents. He is said to have once caught an 80lb bass. Benjamin Harrison, in the early 1890's. Harrison and his wife were afraid they would get shocked if they touched the light switches, so they never did, even going to bed with the lights on if a servant was not nearby to turn them off. Forty-nine, including sisters and other relatives who took on the role of hostess when presidents did not have wives, including the first and second wives of both John Tyler and Woodrow Wilson. .................................................................... James Buchanan,who kept a vow he made at the death of his fiaancee to never marry. William Howard Taft. you probably know him for his weight (he weighed up to 340 pounds and once got stuck in the White House bath tub ), but he was highly regarded as chief justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1921 to 1930 and swore in two presidents, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hover. As Sheriff in Eire County, N.Y., in the 1870's, Grover Cleveland carried out the death sentence by hanging of not one but three convicted murders. U.S.Grant and Dwight Eisenhower graduated from West Point; Jimmy Carter graduated from the Naval Academy at Annapolis. No, this is not a riddle.the answer is Benjamin Harrison. Grover Cleveland was president immediately before and after Harrison. None other than the very interesting and controversial 7th president, Andrew Jackson, aka "Old Hickory". U.S.Grant, while driving a horse and buggy in Washington D.C.. He was fined $20. Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama. Answer coming (updated periodically)
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