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John Quincy Adams, our 6th President, often skinny-dipped in the Potomac River on summer mornings. [See All This Is That: POTUS 6: President John Quincy Adams - First Son Of A President To Become President And The First President To Become A Congressman Post-White House]
William Henry Harrison was inaugurated on an extremely cold day and "caught a cold that developed into pneumonia" [ed's note: hmmmm...we know now that cold weather neither causes colds or pneumonia]. He died exactly one month after becoming the 9th President. [See Jack's portrait and biography of Harrison here: 166 Years Ago Today, William Henry Harrison Became The Fastest President Ever.]
John Tyler, POTUS No. 10, fathered 15 children with two wives. Number 15 arrived when he was 70. [See Jack's portrait and bio of Tyler here: POTUS 10: Pres. John Tyler - The First Accidental President]
The 11th president of the United States James Polk survived a gall bladder surgery when he was 17. The only anaesthetic was brandy. [See All This Is That: POTUS 11: Pres. James Polk - The Man With The Mullet]
Lanky Link a/k/a Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President, often carried letters, bills, and notes in his stovepipe hat. [See All This Is That: POTUS 16: Pres. Abraham Lincoln - The Most Beloved President?]
The 17th U.S. president Andrew Johnson never went to school. Ever. His wife, Eliza McCardle, taught him to write when he was 17. [See All This Is That: POTUS 17: Pres. Andrew Johnson - The Worst President Ever]
James Garfield was ambidextrous and multilingual. The 20th president of the United States could write--[ed's note: is this cool, or what?] at the same time--Greek with one hand and Latin with the other. [See All This Is That: POTUS 20: Pres. James Garfield]
The ubiquitous toy, the teddy bear, arose from 26th U.S. president Theodore ("Teddy") Roosevelt's refusal to shoot a bear with her cub on a hunting trip in Mississippi. [See All This Is That:
POTUS 26: President Theodore Roosevelt - The Roughrider]
32nd president of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt was related, either by blood or by marriage, to 11 former presidents. [See All This Is That:
POTUS 32: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt - The Man In The Wheelchair Who Lifted The Country On His Shoulders; The Only POTUS To Win Four Terms]
The letter "S" in the 33rd president's name, is just that. His middle name is S. Harry S. Truman's middle name came from two of his grandfathers, whose names both had "S" in them. [See All This Is That: POTUS 33: President Harry Truman - "The Buck Stops Here"]
Military leader and 34th president of the U.S. Dwight D. Eisenhower loved to cook; he developed a recipe for vegetable soup that is 894 words long and includes the stems of nasturtium flowers as one of the ingredients. See, separate post today, that includes his recipe. [For more detail on President Eisenhower, see All This Is That: POTUS 34: Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower - A Most Detached President]
40th president of the United States Ronald Reagan broke the so-called "20-year curse," in which every president elected in a year ending in 0 died in office. Ronald Reagan broke the curse, and George Bush looks like he will carry on the tradition! [See All This Is That: POTUS 40: Pres. Ronald "Dutch" Reagan - B Movie Actor To President]
George W. Bush, 43rd president of the United States, and his wife Laura were married three months after meeting each other. [See All This Is That: POTUS 43: Pres. George W. Bush - One Of The Nearly 5% Of Presidents Who Are Sons Of Presidents]
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