Presidents Who Were First

Who was the first President:

George Washington
of the United States.
elected unanimously.
to have a Federal nominee rejected by the Senate.
to veto a Bill passed by Congress, 1792.
elected for a second term.
to grant a pardon July 10, 1795 (to two Whisky Rebellion insurrectionists).
to have a nomination for Chief Justice rejected by the Senate (December 15, 1795).

John Adams
to have been Vice President.
elected on a Party ticket.
to have a Vice President of a different party.
to live in the White House.
defeated seeking re-election. (By Thomas Jefferson)

Thomas Jefferson
elected by the House.
who had been Secretary of State.
inaugurated in Washington at the Capitol.
separately elected under the XII Amendment.
to serve a full eight years. (Two months longer than Washington)
to die on Independence Day (a few hours before John Adams).

James Madison
who had been a U.S. Congressman.
to have the same Vice President as his predecessor.
to use a pocket veto. (Allow bill to expire without signature or rejection.)

James Monroe
who had been a U.S. Senator.
to be inaugurated a day late (because March 4, 1821 was a Sunday).

John Quincy Adams
who was the son of a President.
who had married in a foreign country (England).
to serve in Congress after leaving office. (The only one.)

Andrew Jackson
born in a log cabin.
who had previously fought and killed a man in a duel.
to have been nominated at a national party convention.
elected with a majority of a recorded popular vote.
to walk from the Capitol to the White House after his inauguration.
whose assassination was attempted.
to have a Cabinet nominee rejected by the Senate.
censured by the Senate.

Martin Van Buren
born after independence.
to have been a (U.S.) State Governor.

William H Harrison
to die in office.

John Tyler
born in the United States of America.
to become President by succession on the death of his predecessor.
who had no Vice President.
widowed in office.
married in office (June 25, 1844 in New York City).
to have a veto overridden -- 1845.
expelled by his (Whig) Party.
threatened with impeachment -- 1843.

James K Polk
who had been Speaker of the House.
to have gaslight in the White House.
photographed while President -- 1849.

Zachary Taylor

Millard Fillmore

Franklin Pierce
to affirm, not swear, the oath of office.

James Buchanan
who was a bachelor.

Abraham Lincoln
born outside the original 13 states.
who had been previously granted a patent (in 1849 for a type of buoy).
to suspend the writ of habeus corpus.
to choose a Vice President of a different party.
to be assassinated.
to have his portrait on paper money -- 1862, $10.
to have his image on a U.S. coin -- 1909, 1 cent.

Andrew Johnson
to be impeached. (Acquited by one vote in the Senate.)

Ulysses S Grant
fined for an offense while President; ($20 for riding his horse too fast).

Rutherford B Hayes

James Garfield

Chester Arthur

Grover Cleveland
first (and only) married in the White House.
elected for a second non-consecutive term. (Only one.)
to have a child born in the White House.

Benjamin Harrison
who was the grandson of a President.
to have electric lights in the White House.

William McKinley

Theodore Roosevelt
to travel abroad while President (to Panama).
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

William H Taft
to open the baseball season.
to become Chief Justice after serving as President. (Only one.)

Woodrow Wilson

Warren G Harding
who was a newspaper publisher.
to be broadcast on radio.
to have his funeral broadcast on radio.

Calvin Coolidge
born on Independence Day.
to broadcast on radio from the White House.

Herbert Hoover

Franklin D Roosevelt
to serve three terms.
to have a woman Cabinet member (Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor).
to travel abroad while the U.S. was at war.
elected for a fourth term.
to appear on TV.

Harry S Truman
to authorize the use of nuclear weapons.

Dwight D Eisenhower
who was a licensed pilot. (Both Bush presidents were pilots.)

John F Kennedy
who was a Roman Catholic.
to have debated on TV with his main opponent (Richard Nixon).

Lyndon B Johnson

Richard Nixon
to resign the office (August 9, 1974).

Gerald Ford
to become President by the resignation of his predecessor.
to become President by succession having been appointed Vice President.

Jimmy Carter
who, as President, debated on TV with his main opponent (Ronald Reagan).

Ronald Reagan
to have been divorced.
to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court.

George H.W. Bush
to become President after serving as Director of CIA.

Bill Clinton
while in office, be a defendant in a civil court case.
to give evidence on oath to a Grand Jury.
to have a woman Secretary of State (Madelaine Albright).

George W. Bush
to have an African-American Secretary of State.
to have an African-American National Security Advisor.
to have a woman National Security Advisor.

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