Test your children’s, or even your own knowledge of our Founding Fathers, with this fun quiz of presidential firsts.
Who was the first president to:
- Give a speech on television?
- Be photographed?
- Survive an assassination attempt?
- Move up from the vice presidency when the president was assassinated?
- Use electricity in the White House?
- Have a child born during his presidency?
- Ride in an automobile?
- Win a Nobel Peace Prize?
- Elect an African-American to his cabinet?
The answers are at the bottom of the page.
Strengthen your child’s knowledge of presidential history, or impress your friends with these fascinating facts about our presidents.
Did You Know?
• George Washington was the only American president who never lived in the White House - it wasn’t finished until 1800, three years after Washington left office
• John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the same day – July 4th, 1826 – the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence
• James Buchanan was the only president who never married
• Andrew Johnson’s wife taught him how to read and write
• Grover Cleveland personally answered the White House phone
• Woodrow Wilson kept a flock of sheep on the White House lawn
• Warren Harding had the largest feet of any president - size 14
• Jimmy Carter was a speed reader – he could read up to 2,000 words a minute
Who is your favorite president, and why? Leave your comment by Sunday, February 22nd. Gather will select one respondent to receive a free copy of the book Presidents (Eyewitness Books).
Answers: 1) Harry Truman, 2) John Quincy Adams, 3) Andrew Jackson, 4) John Tyler, 5) Benjamin Harrison, 6) Grover Cleveland, 7) William McKinley, 8) Theodore Roosevelt, 9) Lyndon B. Johnson
Taken from Eyewitness Presidents by DK Publishing
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Comments: 54
Oooh, good question. And a tough one. I've always thought a lot of Theodore Roosevelt for his work in the conservation movement, and contributing so much to our National Parks. But those responsible for our Independence are also very important. It feels like a more personal history yet because I had an ancestor who served with Washington, and later served in his cabinet and that of another early president.
The book looks fantastic.
(and anthony is correct about the first VP to become president after the president was assassinated)
He was a good prez.
On July 4, 1850, President Zachary Taylor was diagnosed by his physicians with chlamydia, a term that included diarrhea and dysentery but not true cholera. Food poisoning has been been indicated as the source of the president's ultimately fatal gastroenteritis. More specifically, a hasty snack of iced milk, cold cherries and pickled cucumbers consumed at an Independence Day celebration might have been the culprit.[29] By July 9, Taylor was dead.
In the late 1980s, author Clara Rising theorized that Taylor was murdered by poison and was able to convince Taylor's closest living relative, as well as the Jefferson Co., KY Coroner, Dr. Richard Greathouse, to order an exhumation. After the exhumation tissue samples did indeed reveal Arsenic poisoning.
The book does look great and I will have to try and get it. My son is very interested in the presidents right now.
But Andrew Johnson was not the first to assume after an assination that was Taylor not Tyler and my reasoning is above.
Cool trivia. I love the 2nd one. I can't believe they both died on the same day and it was the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration. So cool.
I would love this book!
With Presidents day just passing, he informed me that President Washington has rotten teeth and had to have dentures. However, they are not like the dentures of today.
If I had to pick a president, it would have to be Abraham Lincoln for all he did for our country. Freedom to ALL is a priceless gift.
Bill Clinton is my favorite president. While he was in office we did not declare war on anyone and we had a stable economy. President Clinton understood, and still does understand, the role of the presidency in a bipartisan approach within the context of policy and law.
When I grew up and was first married my husband and I lived several blocks from the Truman home. Bess was still alive but very fragile. When ever I heard the ambulance stop at her house I would say a prayer.
Another interesting fact is that his daughter Margaret wasn't much of a singer but turned out to be quite a mystery writer.
I think that Andrew Jackson was one of the most interesting presidents though. I like to read stories about him because the things he did would never be accepted today.
So Andrew Johnson was the first VP to assume the presidency upon the assassination of the president, Abraham Lincoln. Ironically, Hannibal Hamblin was Lincoln's VP in his first term, and was replaced by Johnson for the second term. Then Lincoln was assassinated about 6 weeks after the inauguration.
I would have hated to have had my first leader that I can remember personally be someone who was killed, or caught doing something to be impeached... or accused of mismanaging the country in any way.
I know there are many that did bigger and brighter things, but for me, I like Reagan.
Give a speech on television? - Harry S. Truman
Be photographed? - John Quincy Adams
Survive an assassination attempt? - Andrew Jackson
Move up from the vice presidency when the president was assassinated? - John Tyler
Use electricity in the White House? - Benjamin Harrison
Have a child born during his presidency? - Grover Cleveland
Ride in an automobile? - William McKinnley
Win a Nobel Peace Prize? - Theodore Roosevelt
Elect an African-American to his cabinet? - Lyndon B. Johnson
Another favorite that gets dished by historians is Andrew Johnson, Lincoln's vice president who became president. Historians just rush through him as the first president to face impeachment. He faced impeachment because the congress was trying to absorb the power of the executive branch and destroy the system of checks and balances. Congress ruled that the president could not appoint his own cabinet. When Johnson did, Congress moved to impeach. The law Congress had passed and filed for impeachment was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court after Johnson's death. Johnson loved the union as much as Lincoln and such the reason they could get along even though they were from different parties. Even when his home state of Tennessee withdrew from the union, Johnson wanted to and was allowed to remain part of the Senate. His family was forced into hiding even though they lived in the pro-union area of East Tennessee.
And here's another good trivia question...who was the only president to be elected to the Senate after his presidency? Yep, Andrew Johnson. Unfortunately, he died before the session began.
Oh well, I'll get off my soap box.