Presidents Day can be more than just a day off from school. Here is a list of fun facts about every president and a video that can help you teach your kids the names of all the presidents!
- George Washington was the only president to be elected unanimously.
- John Adams was the first president to live in the White House.
- Thomas Jefferson was fluent in five languages.
- James Madison was our shortest president at only 5’4’’.
- James Monroe became president the same year the White House was painted white for the first time.
- John Quincy Adams often skinny dipped in the Potomac River.
- Andrew Jackson’s parrot had to be removed from his funeral because it wouldn’t stop swearing, which Jackson had taught it to do.
- Martin Van Buren was the first president born in the U.S.
- William Henry Harrison had a pet billy goat.
- John Tyler often played the violin to entertain guests of parties at the White House.
- James Polk banned alcohol, playing cards and dancing from the White House.
- Zachary Taylor’s nickname was “Old Rough and Ready.”
- Millard Fillmore married his school teacher.
- Franklin Pierce was the first president to memorize his inaugural speech.
- James Buchanan was the only president to never marry.
- Abraham Lincoln let his cat eat at the dinner table.
- Andrew Johnson made his own suits.
- Ulysses S. Grant got a speeding ticket while riding a horse.
- Rutherford B. Hayes was the first to bring a Siamese cat to America.
- James A. Garfield could write with both hands in two different languages at once.
- Chester A. Arthur owned at least 80 pairs of pants.
- Grover Cleveland was the first president to be filmed.
- Benjamin Harrison was afraid of electricity because it was still rather new.
- Grover Cleveland, our 22nd and 24th president, had a rubber jaw.
- William McKinley wore carnations for good luck.
- Theodore Roosevelt inspired the creation of teddy bears after he refused to shoot a bear cub while out hunting.
- William H. Taft once overflowed a bathtub, leaking water through the floor onto the heads of people one floor below.
- Woodrow Wilson’s wife was a descendant of Pocahontas.
- Warren G. Harding once lost the White House china in a poker game.
- Calvin Coolidge had two pet raccoons.
- Herbert Hoover and his wife often spoke Mandarin to have private conversations.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt was afraid of the number 13.
- Harry S. Truman’s middle name was just “S.”
- Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first president to ride in a helicopter.
- John F. Kennedy was the youngest person elected.
- Lyndon B. Johnson was known for asking people to follow him into the bathroom to finish conversations while he used the toilet.
- Richard Nixon had a bowling alley put into the basement of the white house.
- Gerald R. Ford’s daughter hosted her prom at the White House.
- Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer before he ran for president.
- Ronald Reagan did stand-up comedy for a few weeks.
- George H.W. Bush was captain of both the baseball and soccer teams in high school.
- Bill Clinton won two Grammys.
- George W. Bush was a cheerleader in high school.
- Barack Obama collects comic books.
- Donald Trump is the wealthiest president.
