While the U.S. presidency is one of the most important jobs in the land, it’s not without its less-serious side. Do you know which President had a dog named Veto, or who kept a giant wheel of cheese on display at the White House?
Here are 9 Fascinating Facts about U.S. Presidents.
Here are 9 Fascinating Facts about U.S. Presidents.
1- No Member of the Military Will Ever Outrank George Washington.
While every acting President serves as the commander in chief of the U.S. military, nobody will ever outrank George Washington. He was posthumously given the rank of General of the Armies of the United States, sometimes compared to being a six-star general. Although General John J. Pershing also held the title for his service during WWI, when President Ford appointed Washington in 1976, 200 years after Washington’s heyday, he specified that our first President would always rank first among all Army officers past and present.
2- Franklin Roosevelt Served Two More Terms Than Any President Ever Will.
Franklin Roosevelt is remembered for many things, but one reason his impact looms so large in American history is because he was elected commander in chief four times — double any other U.S. President. George Washington set a precedent when he served only two terms in the late 18th century, and future Presidents more or less followed this tradition (though FDR’s cousin Theodore Roosevelt ran for a third term). After Roosevelt’s historic 12 years in office (he died early into his fourth term), the U.S. Congress passed the 22nd Amendment, officially limiting any future President’s time in office to two terms.
3- James A. Garfield Had a Dog Named Veto
James A. Garfield didn’t have the strangest presidential pet — that distinction probably belongs to either John Quincy Adams’ alligator (which he kept in a bathtub) or Martin Van Buren’s two tiger cubs — but his dog Veto might have had the cleverest name. Named after the presidential power to prevent a bill passed by Congress from becoming law, the black Newfoundland was described by the Lewiston Evening Journal as “a true protector” who once alerted his humans to a barn fire by barking, and who also once “held the reins of a valuable horse on a rampage in the barn” until help arrived to resolve the equine emergency.
4- Abraham Lincoln Was a Top-Ranked Wrestler
Honest Abe was an accomplished wrestler. It’s said that, as a young man in Illinois, Lincoln competed in about 300 wrestling contests over 12 years and lost just one match. In 1830, after he was crowned his county’s wrestling champion, Lincoln wasn’t afraid to trash-talk his opponents: “I’m the big buck of this lick,” he reportedly said. “If any of you want to try it, come on and whet your horns.
5- Abraham Lincoln Was the First President To Be Seen on TV.
Although Roosevelt is perhaps most famous for his fireside chats broadcast via radio, the nation’s 32nd President was also the first to ever be seen on television. The President appeared on TV during the world’s fair in New York in 1939, although only a handful of TV sets in the area were able to actually watch the broadcast. As World War II exploded across Europe and Asia, and TVs became more commonplace in American homes, FDR became the first President to really use the emerging medium.
6- Andrew Jackson Kept a 1,400-Pound Wheel of Cheese on Display at the White House.
To say that Andrew Jackson’s legacy is complicated would be putting it mildly — he had a particularly horrifying record when it came to enslaved people and Native Americans. But his eight years in the Oval Office did include at least one less painful story: “Old Hickory” kept a nearly 1,400-pound wheel of cheese on display at the White House for more than a year. The enormous block of cheddar was a gift from Colonel Thomas S. Meacham, who made it on his dairy farm in Sandy Creek, New York, in 1835 and presented it shortly thereafter.
7- Franklin D. Roosevelt Was the First President to Travel by Plane on Official Business.
In October 1910, Theodore Roosevelt soared into the sky, a passenger on a two-person airplane flown above St. Louis’ Kinloch Field. With just three minutes of flight time, Roosevelt became the first U.S. President to fly — what he called the “bulliest experience” he’d ever had — though historians point out that he wasn’t the first sitting President to do so, since he had recently left office. Instead, that honor would go to his cousin Franklin D. Roosevelt, who became the first President to fly on official business some three decades later.
8- The Last U.S. President With Facial Hair Was William Howard Taft.
On Inauguration Day in 1913, mustachioed President William Howard Taft passed the presidential baton to clean-shaven Woodrow Wilson. What Taft couldn’t have known at the time was that his departure began a long streak of clean-shaven faces occupying the Oval Office. In fact, out of the 46 Presidents in U.S. history so far, only 13 have had any facial hair whatsoever. Although sixth President John Quincy Adams, eighth President Martin Van Buren, and 12th President Zachary Taylor sported impressive mutton chops, the first serious presidential facial fuzz belonged to 16th President Abraham Lincoln — thanks to an 11-year-old girl whose 1860 letter convinced him to grow out his whiskers. After Lincoln, eight of the next 10 Presidents sported some sort of facial hair.
9- Richard Nixon Was Reportedly Descended From King Edward III.
America was founded in part to oppose royalty, but some of our leaders were still descended from it. Richard Nixon, for example, is believed to have counted King Edward III among his ancestors on his maternal grandfather’s side (what’s more, he was named for Richard the Lionheart). The legacy of the 37th President is largely defined by its disgraceful end — with Nixon ultimately choosing to resign in August 1974 rather than face impeachment for his involvement in the Watergate scandal — but before that, Nixon was a political force who at times seemed poised to live up to his lineage. He spent three years in the House of Representatives, about two in the Senate, and eight as Dwight D. Eisenhower's Vice President before ascending to the presidency himself.
While every acting President serves as the commander in chief of the U.S. military, nobody will ever outrank George Washington. He was posthumously given the rank of General of the Armies of the United States, sometimes compared to being a six-star general. Although General John J. Pershing also held the title for his service during WWI, when President Ford appointed Washington in 1976, 200 years after Washington’s heyday, he specified that our first President would always rank first among all Army officers past and present.
2- Franklin Roosevelt Served Two More Terms Than Any President Ever Will.
Franklin Roosevelt is remembered for many things, but one reason his impact looms so large in American history is because he was elected commander in chief four times — double any other U.S. President. George Washington set a precedent when he served only two terms in the late 18th century, and future Presidents more or less followed this tradition (though FDR’s cousin Theodore Roosevelt ran for a third term). After Roosevelt’s historic 12 years in office (he died early into his fourth term), the U.S. Congress passed the 22nd Amendment, officially limiting any future President’s time in office to two terms.
3- James A. Garfield Had a Dog Named Veto
James A. Garfield didn’t have the strangest presidential pet — that distinction probably belongs to either John Quincy Adams’ alligator (which he kept in a bathtub) or Martin Van Buren’s two tiger cubs — but his dog Veto might have had the cleverest name. Named after the presidential power to prevent a bill passed by Congress from becoming law, the black Newfoundland was described by the Lewiston Evening Journal as “a true protector” who once alerted his humans to a barn fire by barking, and who also once “held the reins of a valuable horse on a rampage in the barn” until help arrived to resolve the equine emergency.
4- Abraham Lincoln Was a Top-Ranked Wrestler
Honest Abe was an accomplished wrestler. It’s said that, as a young man in Illinois, Lincoln competed in about 300 wrestling contests over 12 years and lost just one match. In 1830, after he was crowned his county’s wrestling champion, Lincoln wasn’t afraid to trash-talk his opponents: “I’m the big buck of this lick,” he reportedly said. “If any of you want to try it, come on and whet your horns.
5- Abraham Lincoln Was the First President To Be Seen on TV.
Although Roosevelt is perhaps most famous for his fireside chats broadcast via radio, the nation’s 32nd President was also the first to ever be seen on television. The President appeared on TV during the world’s fair in New York in 1939, although only a handful of TV sets in the area were able to actually watch the broadcast. As World War II exploded across Europe and Asia, and TVs became more commonplace in American homes, FDR became the first President to really use the emerging medium.
6- Andrew Jackson Kept a 1,400-Pound Wheel of Cheese on Display at the White House.
To say that Andrew Jackson’s legacy is complicated would be putting it mildly — he had a particularly horrifying record when it came to enslaved people and Native Americans. But his eight years in the Oval Office did include at least one less painful story: “Old Hickory” kept a nearly 1,400-pound wheel of cheese on display at the White House for more than a year. The enormous block of cheddar was a gift from Colonel Thomas S. Meacham, who made it on his dairy farm in Sandy Creek, New York, in 1835 and presented it shortly thereafter.
7- Franklin D. Roosevelt Was the First President to Travel by Plane on Official Business.
In October 1910, Theodore Roosevelt soared into the sky, a passenger on a two-person airplane flown above St. Louis’ Kinloch Field. With just three minutes of flight time, Roosevelt became the first U.S. President to fly — what he called the “bulliest experience” he’d ever had — though historians point out that he wasn’t the first sitting President to do so, since he had recently left office. Instead, that honor would go to his cousin Franklin D. Roosevelt, who became the first President to fly on official business some three decades later.
8- The Last U.S. President With Facial Hair Was William Howard Taft.
On Inauguration Day in 1913, mustachioed President William Howard Taft passed the presidential baton to clean-shaven Woodrow Wilson. What Taft couldn’t have known at the time was that his departure began a long streak of clean-shaven faces occupying the Oval Office. In fact, out of the 46 Presidents in U.S. history so far, only 13 have had any facial hair whatsoever. Although sixth President John Quincy Adams, eighth President Martin Van Buren, and 12th President Zachary Taylor sported impressive mutton chops, the first serious presidential facial fuzz belonged to 16th President Abraham Lincoln — thanks to an 11-year-old girl whose 1860 letter convinced him to grow out his whiskers. After Lincoln, eight of the next 10 Presidents sported some sort of facial hair.
9- Richard Nixon Was Reportedly Descended From King Edward III.
America was founded in part to oppose royalty, but some of our leaders were still descended from it. Richard Nixon, for example, is believed to have counted King Edward III among his ancestors on his maternal grandfather’s side (what’s more, he was named for Richard the Lionheart). The legacy of the 37th President is largely defined by its disgraceful end — with Nixon ultimately choosing to resign in August 1974 rather than face impeachment for his involvement in the Watergate scandal — but before that, Nixon was a political force who at times seemed poised to live up to his lineage. He spent three years in the House of Representatives, about two in the Senate, and eight as Dwight D. Eisenhower's Vice President before ascending to the presidency himself.
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