Friday, April 4, 2025

Presidential Trivia

How good are you?  All 45 presidents are represented. 1 question for each 1 (and vice versa). Write down your answers, then scroll down to see the answers.


Only prez with 3 marriages

Only bachelor president

Was born only 5 miles from the Canadian border

Became a college president at age 26

His daughter married Jeff Davis

Only prez from Delaware

Died 3 months after leaving office

Died on the same day as Jefferson

Only prez to be an Eagle Scout

Youngest elected prez

Was a failed haberdasher

Fathered an illegitimate child while in office

Was part of the first graduating class at Stanford

Was the grandson of a prez

Only president born in Hawaii

Initials at birth were HUG

Only prez to learn English as a 2nd language

Only prez to lead a labor union

Lived with a bullet in his body from a duel

Shortest-serving prez

Longest-serving pres

Only prez married in office

Was president of Columbia Univ,

Never attended school

Only prez from NH 

Once owned a MLB team

Only prez who was part of the Confederate government

Only prez with a PhD

Was sworn in as prez aboard a plane

Only prez who went to Duke

Ran as a prez candidate for the Know Nothing Party

Refused to serve alcohol in the White House

Only prez who was a Rhodes scholar

1st prez to ride in an automobile

After his term was up, served as a US representative

Our shortest prez

Fathered a child with a slave

Only prez with a state named after him

Went on to become Supreme Court Justice

Was sworn in by his father

Our tallest prez

Only prez who went to the USNA

Wanted to be addressed as His Highness

Played in the College World Series

Our youngest prez  










Only prez with 3 marriages – Donald Trump (Reagan had 2)

Only bachelor president – James Buchanan (Cleveland married in the White House)

Was born only 5 miles from the Canadian border – Chester Arthur (in Fairfield VT)

Became a college president at age 26 – James Garfield (of Western Reserve Eclectic Institute, now Hiram College)

His daughter married Jeff Davis – Zachary Taylor (his only son was a Confederate general)

Only prez from Delaware – Joe Biden (though born in PA)

Died 3 months after leaving office – James Knox Polk (of cholera)

Only prez to be an Eagle Scout – Gerald Ford 

Youngest elected prez – JFK (43)

Was a failed haberdasher – Harry Truman

Fathered an illegitimate child while in office – Warren G Harding (proven by DNA testing in 2015)

Was part of the first graduating class at Stanford – Herbert Hoover (was also class treasurer and manager of the baseball & football teams)

Was the grandson of a prez – Benjamin Harrison (William Henry, that is)

Only prez born in Hawaii – Barack Obama (only prez born outside the contiguous USA)

Initials at birth were HUG – Ulysses S Grant (named inadvertently hcanged by sponsor to  West Point)

Only prez to learn English as a 2nd language – Martin Van Buren (1st language was Dutch)

Only prez to lead a labor union – Ronald Reagan (Screen Actors Guild)

Lived with a bullet in his body from a duel – Andrew Jackson

Shortest-serving prez – William Henry Harrison (1 month)

Longest-serving pres – FDR (4+ terms)

Only prez married in office – Grover Cleveland (she was ward, and he had 28 years on her)

Was president of Columbia  – Dwight D Eisenhower (never served in elected office before becoming prez) 

Never attended school – Andrew Johnson (he was apprenticed to a tailor instead)

Only prez from NH – Franklin Pierce (his father was the governor)

Once owned a MLB team – George W Bush (co-owned, actually)

Only prez who was part of the Confederate government – John Tyler (Confederate congressman)

Only prez with a PhD – Woodrow Wilson (in history & government)

Was sworn in as prez aboard a plane – Lyndon Johnson (en route to DC after JFK’s assasination)

Only prez who went to Duke – Richard Nixon (law school)

Ran as a prez candidate for the Know Nothing Party – Millard Fillmore (AKA the American Party)

Refused to serve alcohol in the White House – Rutherford B Hayes (his wife was known as Lemonade Lucy)

Only prez who was a Rhodes scholar – Bill Clnton (he attended, but did not graduate from, Oxford)

1st prez to ride in an automobile – William McKinley (it was steam-powered)

After his term was up, served as a US representative – John Quincy Adams (suffered a stroke on the floor of Congress, dying 2 days later)

Our shortest prez – James Madison (5’4”, never weighed over 100 lbs)

Fathered a child with a slave – Thomas Jefferson (actually 6 of them) 

Only prez with a state named after him – George Washington 

Went on to become Supreme Court Justice – William Howard Taft (actually a Chief Justice)

Was sworn in by his father – Calvin Coolidge (in tiny Plymouth Notch, VT)

Our tallest prez – Abaham Lincoln (6’4”)

Only prez who went to the USNA – Jimmy Carter (where he was a cross-country tunner)

Wanted to be addressed as His Highness – John Adams

Played in the College World Series – George HW Bush (for Yale)

Our youngest prez – Teddy Roosevelt (42)



How did you do

  • 40+ - presidential scholar
  • 30-39 – winning candidate
  • 20-29 – losing candidate
  • 10-19 – couldn’t get out of the primaries
  • 0-9 -  failed civics class