From George Washington to Barack Obama; Records of U.S. Presidents

Wynet and Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, on Sunday, November 6, pointed to several interesting records and 'firsts' of U.S. presidents throughout history: Which president served more than two terms? Franklin Roosevelt: He stayed in the White House for over 12 years, the longest presidential term in U.S. history. Roosevelt died in 1945 shortly after starting his fourth term. Six years after his death, on February 27, 1951, the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was ratified to limit presidential terms to two. Which president served two non-consecutive terms? Grover Cleveland: Barack Obama, who will soon leave the White House, is the 44th president of the United States but is actually the 43rd person to have served as president; this confusion is due to Grover Cleveland, who was both the 22nd and 24th president. He is the only person to have served two non-consecutive terms, completing eight years in office with a four-year gap. In 1884, Cleveland became president in a close competition against James Blaine but lost his seat four years later to Republican Benjamin Harrison (the grandson of President William Henry Harrison). However, Cleveland returned to the presidency in 1892 by defeating Harrison again. Which president took the oath of office at the oldest age? Ronald Reagan: After two unsuccessful attempts, Ronald Reagan won the election in November 1979 during the early days of the Islamic Republic in Iran, amid the hostage crisis of American diplomats in Tehran and the anger of the American public over this incident. He took the presidential oath on January 20, 1980, just days shy of his 70th birthday. With Trump's presidency, he will break the record and become the oldest president to take the oath at the age of 70. Which president was the first to live in the White House? John Adams: George Washington was the first president of the United States who served two terms (from 1789 to 1797) but did not have the opportunity to reside in the White House. The construction of the White House began in 1792 and was completed in 1800. The first resident of this house was the second president of the United States, John Adams. Which president was born outside the American continent (but in U.S. territory)? Barack Obama: Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the 50th state of the United States, located 4,000 kilometers from the U.S. West Coast, to a white mother and a Kenyan father. Obama's victory in 2008 over Senator John McCain was also historic in that it marked the first time an African American was elected president of the United States. Which president was unanimously elected by the Electoral College? George Washington: George Washington, who was the commander of the American military forces during the difficult days of the War of Independence, ran for election in 1789 when no one dared to compete with him. He received all 69 electoral votes, and this historic feat was repeated in 1792, allowing him to continue his presidency at the peak of popularity; no one has repeated this since. Which president was the first to be impeached? Andrew Johnson: The 17th president of the United States was impeached by the House of Representatives on November 24, 1868, but the Senate acquitted him. The second president to face impeachment was Bill Clinton, who in 1998 faced a major scandal for 'lying under oath and attempting to cover up the Monica Lewinsky affair.' In the final vote in Congress, the necessary majority, two-thirds of the senators' votes for Clinton's impeachment, was not achieved. Which president resigned? Richard Nixon: The 37th president of the United States, who was not very popular, became embroiled in the 'Watergate' scandal; his staff attempted to wiretap the Democrats' headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. Nixon did not want to be the first president to be impeached by the Senate due to this crisis and preferred to resign; he signed his resignation letter on the night of August 9, 1974. Gerald Ford, the 38th president, pardoned Nixon before his trial for the Watergate scandal began, and Nixon permanently exited the public scene. Which president and vice president were not elected by the people? Gerald Ford and Nelson Rockefeller: Before the Watergate scandal and Nixon's resignation in 1973, Nixon's vice president Spiro Agnew resigned in 1973 after it was revealed that he had committed tax evasion and was disgraced in accusations of 'money laundering and bribery.' Nixon, still president, appointed Gerald Ford as his successor, although Ford was not his electoral vice president. Gerald Ford, who became president after Nixon's resignation and held the position for two years, appointed Nelson Rockefeller as his vice president. Thus, during these two years, the U.S. operated without a president and vice president who had been elected by the people to the White House; this period was also a calm time in U.S.-Iran relations, which escalated with Jimmy Carter's rise to power in 1977 due to Carter's pressures on the Shah of Iran to respect citizens' rights, leading to tensions and the Iranian revolutionaries' hostage-taking of American diplomats at the U.S. Embassy, known as the 'den of spies,' which played a significant role in Ronald Reagan's victory as a Republican Hollywood actor. Which president purchased Alaska from Russia? Andrew Johnson: The purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867 is recorded as Andrew Johnson's most significant achievement in foreign policy; however, the initiator of this action was his Secretary of State William Seward, who was accused of 'squandering public funds' for a deal that cost only seven million two hundred thousand dollars at the time. It later became clear that such a vast territory contained gold, coal, oil, and natural gas resources that generated significant income for the U.S. Which president was the first to appear on television? Franklin Delano Roosevelt: The 32nd president of the United States was the first to appear on black-and-white television on the evening of April 30, 1939. Which president was the first to travel by limousine, and who was the unintended gift? Franklin Delano Roosevelt: U.S. security services needed a vehicle to take President Roosevelt to Congress to speak about the Japanese attack on the U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. The car needed to be bulletproof due to heightened concerns for the president's safety. Fortunately for the FBI, the Treasury Department recalled that a bulletproof limousine had been seized from mafia boss Al Capone several years earlier; the limousine was quickly brought out, serviced, and taken to Congress with Roosevelt. Which president never married? Who remarried? Who got divorced? James Buchanan: The 15th president of the United States (1857 to 1861) never married. Five U.S. presidents all remarried after the death of their first wives: Woodrow Wilson and John Tyler married their second loves while residing in the White House after the death of their first wives. Ronald Reagan was the first and only U.S. president to have been divorced. He divorced his first wife, Hollywood actress Jane Wyman, in 1948, 32 years before he became president, and married Nancy Davis four years later. However, not having a divorce record is very important for becoming president in the U.S. With Trump's presidency, he is the first to have divorced both of his previous wives, Ivana and Marla, thus breaking records in this regard. Which president was a 'lame duck'? Who had the most children? Six U.S. presidents never had children with their wives. John Tyler had the largest presidential family with fifteen children. Which president died while in office? Eight U.S. presidents died while in office: Zachary Taylor, Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, Warren Harding, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy (who was assassinated). However, William Harrison was the unluckiest; he died just 31 days after taking office and had not yet seen all of the White House. He refused to wear a heavy warm coat during the cold March 1841 oath ceremony and insisted on delivering his 8,444-word speech for two hours, later walking with the public on the famous oath day. His stubbornness cost him his life; he caught a cold and developed pneumonia and died. His vice president, John Tyler, succeeded him and carried the title 'Accidental President' for the entire term due to the manner of his entry into the Oval Office and important decision-making places. Which U.S. presidents died exactly on Independence Day? John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe: All three of these unfortunate individuals died on July 4, the anniversary of Independence Day. However, July 4 was a lucky day for Calvin Coolidge, who later became president and was born on this day. Which university in the U.S. has produced the most presidents? Harvard: This prestigious and renowned university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has seen the most U.S. presidents during their student years; eight presidents: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Rutherford B. Hayes, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. Which president introduced the term 'OK' into the language? Martin Van Buren: The eighth president of the United States, originally from Kinderhook, New York, faced support from his supporters during his campaign who formed groups called Old Kinderhook in his favor, which was abbreviated to 'OK.' When they wanted to mention one of their members, they would say 'OK,' meaning 'he is one of us' or in today's terms 'he is one of us.' The American 'OK' has since become a catchphrase worldwide. The first president to... - shake hands with guests was Thomas Jefferson, the third president, - be captured on camera was James Polk, the eleventh president, - ride in a car was Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president, - name the president's house 'the White House' was Theodore Roosevelt in 1901, - fly in an airplane was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd president, - have a medical education was William Henry Harrison, the ninth president, - hold a press conference at the White House was John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th president, - take the presidential oath from a female chief judge, Sarah T. Hughes, was Lyndon Johnson, who became president after Kennedy's assassination, - be born not at home but in a hospital was Jimmy Carter, - live the longest was Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, who lived until the age of 93 after leaving the White House; Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush also reached 92 years, and John Adams and Herbert Hoover lived to be 90, but many U.S. presidents died in their fifties, except for John Kennedy, who was assassinated at 48, and James Garfield, who died at 49, truly young. - had his hair turn gray very early was the recent president: the White House turned Obama's black and curly hair gray much sooner than he expected, - and finally, George Washington, the first president of the United States, has so far been the only president who has not belonged to any party.