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Presidential Fun Facts

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Trinity chapter.
  1. Ulysses S. Grant, was given a $20 speeding ticket for riding his horse and buggy too fast down a Washington, D.C. street.

  2. Calvin Coolidge kept the most pets, including a pygmy hippo.

  3. John Tyler fathered 15 children, the most of any President. 

  4. Richard Nixon played the most musical instruments, including piano, clarinet, violin, accordion, cello, and saxophone.

  5. William Taft gained 50lbs in office, the most of any president, and ended up getting stuck in a bathtub! Then lost 75lbs in the year after he was out of office.

  6. James Madison was the first President to wear long pants!

  7. John Quincy Adams was the first President to be photographed. 

  8. Rutherford B. Hayes was the first President to use a telephone- his number was 1!

  9. Barack Obama was the first President to write his own email!

  10. James Buchanan was a bachelor!

  11. Martin Van Buren was the only President to not speak English at home- he spoke Dutch! 

  12. Andrew Jackson lived with a bullet in his chest for 40 years.

  13. George Washington had dentures made of gold, ivory, lead, and animal teeth.

  14. John Quincy Adams Regularly Skinny-Dipped In the Potomac River.

  15. William Henry Harrison had a pet goat.

  16. Zachary Taylor’s nickname was “Old Rough And Ready.”

  17. Andrew Johnson was drunk during his inauguration after consuming whiskey before his speech.

  18.  Rutherford B. Hayes banned alcohol from the White House. 

  19. Teddy Roosevelt suffered from very severe asthma, particularly during his childhood!

  20. Woodrow Wilson was the only President to hold a doctorate degree. 

  21. Warren Harding lost the White House china set in a Poker Game.

  22. Calvin Coolidge had a morning ritual in which someone rubbed Vaseline on his head while he ate breakfast in bed.

  23. Jimmy Carter ran his family’s peanut farm.

  24. Bill Clinton Is A Two-Time Grammy Winner.

  25. George W. Bush was his high school’s head cheerleader.

Kelly is a junior at Trinity College, double majoring in English and American Studies. Besides being the Campus Correspondent for Her Campus, she is a barista at Peter B's Espresso, Features Editor of The Trinity Tripod, and a member of the executive council for SGA.