History UsefulNotes / ThePresidentsOfTheUnitedStates

# UsefulNotes/JoeBiden (2021–present, Democrat). Incumbent. Most recent VP to become president, having served under Obama.[[note]]Second non-incumbent VP to become president, after Nixon; first since Bush Sr. to have previously served two full terms.[[/note]] Previously served for [[LongRunners 36 years]] (1973–2009) as a senator from Delaware. Only president to represent Delaware and the first born in Pennsylvania since Buchanan. Oldest person to win a presidential election and oldest president ever; at 78 years, 61 days upon taking office, he was older than the second oldest, Reagan, was upon ''leaving'' office (which he did at 77 years, 348 days). First octogenarian president. Currently the only member of the Silent Generation to be president.[[note]]In terms of generations, the presidential order goes from the Greatest Generation (Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and H.W. Bush), skips the Silent Generation entirely, and goes to Boomers (Clinton, W. Bush, then, despite being on the younger side, Obama). Trump, born in 1946, when the Boomer generation began, is also one of the oldest Boomers, like Clinton and W. Bush, leaving Biden as the only true representative of the Silent Generation among presidents.[[/note]] First Catholic president since Kennedy;[[note]]He had also been the first Catholic VP under Obama.[[/note]] first president to win with a female running mate and, after Hoover, second with a non-White person (UsefulNotes/KamalaHarris, of Black and Indian descent). Had more popular votes cast for him than any other presidential candidate in history; won the largest percentage of the popular vote of any challenging candidate since FDR in 1932. First president since Lincoln to lack a peaceful transfer of power, with Trump supporters storming the Capitol building in their attempt to stop the certification of the election results. His term has so far been defined by its response to COVID-19 (successfully rolling out vaccinations before pushing for a return to normalcy), the accompanying recession marked by massive inflation (with his landmark legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, responding to a whole host of other issues including climate change and drug prices), and international instability (ranging from withdrawing troops from Afghanistan to sanctioning Russia and providing financial aid to Ukraine during the escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian war).

# UsefulNotes/UlyssesSGrant (1869–77, Republican). The greatest [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Civil War]] general. Initially considered a subpar president due to corruption scandals, but his reputation is on the rise due to his FairForItsDay civil rights record, which included defeating the first UsefulNotes/KuKluxKlan. First president to have been a four-star general.[[note]]In fact, he was the ''first'' four-star general in American history, the rank having been created specifically for him.[[/note]] Last president to have owned a slave at some point in his life.[[note]]He had acquired one slave from his father-in-law in 1858, but could not bring himself to force the man to do work, so he freed him by a manumission deed the following year, [[ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules when selling him could have potentially been worth at least $1,000 (about $30,000 in 2020) when Grant needed the money to get out of an incredible tight spot financially.]][[/note]] Lived in near poverty for much of his post-presidency and died of cancer in 1885 (probably caused by his well-known [[CigarChomper cigar habit]]) a few days after completing his memoirs, the sales of which rescued his family from their impoverished state[[note]]which is why he wrote them in the first place[[/note]]. Featured on the $50 bill.

# UsefulNotes/UlyssesSGrant (1869–77, Republican). The greatest [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Civil War]] general. Initially considered a subpar president due to corruption scandals, but his reputation is on the rise due to his FairForItsDay civil rights record, which included defeating the first UsefulNotes/KuKluxKlan. First president to have been a four-star general.[[note]]In fact, he was the ''first'' four-star general in American history, the rank having been created specifically for him.[[/note]] Last president to have owned a slave at some point in his life.[[note]]He had acquired one slave from his father-in-law in 1858, but could not bring himself to force the man to do work, so he freed him by a manumission deed the following year, [[ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules when selling him could have potentially been worth at least $1,000 (about $30,000 in 2020) when Grant needed the money to get out of an incredible tight spot financially.]][[/note]] Lived in near poverty for much of his post-presidency and died of cancer in 1885 (probably caused by his well-known [[CigarChomper cigar habit]]). Featured on the $50 bill.

An {{urban legend|s}}, popularized by ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' in 1931, claims that there is a curse upon the presidency. This curse, variously known as the "Curse of Tippecanoe", "Tecumseh's Curse" and the "Zero-Year Curse", states that any president who is elected in a year ending in a zero (1840, 1860, etc.) will die in office or have a near miss. It was allegedly placed upon UsefulNotes/WilliamHenryHarrison by Tecumseh's brother Tenskwatana during the Indian wars and the UsefulNotes/WarOf1812, in which Harrison won two decisive battles against Tecumseh in present-day Indiana and Ontario (the latter leading to Tecumseh's death). Whatever the curse's validity, it was apparently "broken" by either UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan (if deaths alone count), or UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush (if near-misses count as well)[[note]]Unless you count that one time some guy in the country of Georgia [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Arutyunian#Assassination_attempt threw a grenade]] at Bush and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili; the grenade did not detonate.[[/note]] as both survived to serve two full terms. Only time will tell what happens after the 2020 election.[[note]]UsefulNotes/JoeBiden, who won the 2020 presidential election, indirectly {{lampshade|Hanging}}d the curse, stating that his running mate will need to be prepared to step into "the most important job in the White House" at a moment's notice.[[/note]]

# UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy (1961–63, Democrat). A representative (1947–53) and senator (1953–60) from Massachusetts, and a member of one of the state's [[BlueBlood most prominent political families]]. Youngest elected president at just 43 years old, with many associating his successful campaign with his good looks and stirring oratory, especially during the televised presidential debates (the first of their kind). First non-WASP, non-Old Stock, White-ethnic, and Catholic president, and last Northeastern president until Trump. A notorious womanizer, which is still a popular subject of parody to this day, alongside his distinctively thick New England accent. Oversaw the Cuban Missile Crisis, instigated the mission to put a man on the moon (which would take the rest of the decade to fulfill), and voiced support of the burgeoning UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement. Died in office; shortest-lived president; most recent of four presidents to be assassinated and most recent of eight presidents to die in office; the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Commission Warren Commission]] and most investigations concluded that he was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald, a former U.S. Marine and Marxist sympathizer who had acted alone, but due to Oswald's ''own'' murder by distraught nightclub owner Jack Ruby two days later, Kennedy's assassination is still plagued by unanswered questions and conspiracy theories, to the point where it has [[WhoShotJFK its own trope]]. The fact that the assassination was [[UsefulNotes/ZapruderFilm caught on film]] gives him the odd distinction of being the only president to ever be the subject of a SnuffFilm. Due to the aforementioned trope, earliest-appointed president to have his own trope on this wiki and only one of two (alongside Trump) to hold such a distinction. Featured on the half dollar.

# UsefulNotes/JohnTyler (1841–45, Whig/Independent). A former Virginia representative (1816–1821), governor (1825–27), and senator (1827–36), and last from that state to serve.[[note]]Woodrow Wilson was born in Virginia but left with his family when he was two and lived most of his life in Georgia and New Jersey, with the latter being his home state at the time he was elected into office.[[/note]] First president to have been born after the ratification of the Constitution. First vice president to inherit the presidency, setting a precedent that was contested and wouldn't be codified until the 25th Amendment over a century later, and had the longest administration of a non-elected president, serving almost all of Harrison's term. Initially joined the Whigs due to opposing Andrew Jackson, only to be ''kicked out of the party'' for constantly impeding them and obstructing their ideas to help America recover from the Panic of 1837 (making him the only president ever to be officially expelled from his own party while in office).[[note]]His unpopular vetoes also made all of his cabinet members quit, except Secretary of State Daniel Webster.[[/note]] Also notorious for being the first president to have a veto overridden by Congress and the first to be threatened with a serious (yet unsuccessful) impeachment investigation [[note]]Thomas Jefferson was ''technically'' the first president to be considered for impeachment inquiry, but the inquiry didn't begin after consideration by the House of Representatives in 1809.[[/note]] Oversaw several accomplishments in foreign policy, most notably (and controversially) the annexation of Texas.[[note]]Other accomplishments include the Webster Ashburton Treaty (settling the northeastern border), the ending of both Dorr’s Rebellion in Rhode Island and the Second Seminole War in Flordia (laying the grounds for the latter to join the Union), the Tyler Doctrine (expanding the Monroe Doctrine to UsefulNotes/{{Hawaii}}), and the Treaty of Wanghia (established trade with China).[[/note]] Also the first president to get married (remarried) while in office and fathered most children of any president (fifteen); despite dying 160 years ago, he still has a living grandson. After concluding his presidency, he sided with the Confederacy when UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar began in 1861, served in the unelected Confederate Provisional Congress, and won election to the Confederate House of Representatives (making him the only former president ever to run for an office outside the United States proper) but died of a stroke on January 18, 1862 before being seated; he was buried with the Confederate flag, making him the [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers only president not laid to rest under the flag of the United States]].[[note]]It has been posited that this makes Tyler the only president to be laid to rest under a foreign flag; it's unclear if the Confederate States count as a "foreign country" since no foreign government ever recognized it as an independent nation, but Tyler ''is'' the only president to die as a traitor to the United States government.[[/note]]

# UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump (2017–21, Republican). Living. One of the most divisive figures ever to hold the office, and unique in many respects: First president not to have held any prior political (elected or appointed) or military office; likely the wealthiest president;[[note]]Though a staunch refusal to release his official tax returns makes this difficult to confirm, most people judge his global real estate empire and other investments to have been worth more than even George Washington's substantial land holdings would have been today.[[/note]] first to have primary residence in Florida;[[note]]He was born in New York and lived there full-time through his 2016 presidential campaign, making him the first Northeastern president since JFK, but changed his listed residency in the middle of his term and spent nearly as much time in Florida as he did in D.C.[[/note]] first to have hosted a [[Series/TheApprentice reality television show]]; the only president to have managed a ProfessionalWrestling match at Wrestling/WrestleMania; [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan third]] to have "won" a UsefulNotes/GoldenRaspberryAward[[note]][[UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush second]] to have done so playing himself and [[Film/GhostsCantDoIt first]] to have done so before his presidency[[/note]]. Ran on a strongly populist and nationalist platform and disrupted/ignored many expectations of "presidential" behavior. Third president to be impeached/acquitted, in his case for pressuring the Ukrainian president to investigate election opponent Joe Biden. First president to run for re-election after his impeachment, with his campaign coinciding with the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic that he (and other world leaders) struggled with. Most recent president to lose re-election (and thus the most recent one-term president).[[note]]Though also the first incumbent loser since Van Buren to ''gain'' votes in his second election.[[/note]] Only sitting president who refused to concede an election loss (since it became a tradition around 1900), and instead filed lawsuits and pressured election officials to invalidate Biden's victory in 2020, creating chaos across the country that culminated with his supporters storming the Capitol while Congress counted the ballots, ending the streak of peaceful transfers of power that dated back to the Civil War. Finally conceded after that failed to prevent certification, though later continued to insist the election was rigged and did not attend his successor's scheduled inauguration, a first since Andrew Johnson snubbed Ulysses S. Grant.[[note]]Woodrow Wilson and Richard Nixon did not attend the respective inaugurations of Warren Harding and Gerald Ford, but that was due to Wilson's poor health and the circumstances of Nixon's resignation, respectively.[[/note]] Was ultimately impeached and acquitted ''again''; this time, on the charge of inciting insurrection, making him the only president to have been impeached/acquitted ''twice'' and have his trial occur after leaving office.[[note]]Also the [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative most bipartisan]] impeachment, with ten House Republicans siding with every Democrat to impeach and seven Republican senators siding with every Democrat to convict.[[/note]] First president to seek reelection for a non-consecutive term since Theodore Roosevelt. Only president to be formally indicted of a crime (and thus have a mugshot), with a wave of '''four''' indictments in 2023: one from a New York City grand jury in relation to hush-money payments, two from the Department of Justice regarding both his refusal to return classified documents and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election via inciting the above-mentioned January 6, 2021 riot, and a fourth by the state of Georgia regarding his specific efforts to overturn the election results there[[note]]With other states where he attempted the same thing considering their own indictments, meaning that even '''more''' might be pending [[/note]]by asking its Secretary of State to "find" him votes. Like Kennedy, [[{{Trumplica}} he has his own trope]] on this wiki thanks to his longtime status as a FountainOfExpies.

# UsefulNotes/WilliamMcKinley (1897–1901, Republican). Former Congressman (1877–84 and 1885–91) from and governor (1892–96) of Ohio. Drove up the international/imperial (depending on whom you ask) turn in high-level American policy. First president whose opponent publicly and formally conceded their loss in the presidential election, with UsefulNotes/WilliamJenningsBryan doing so by telegram in 1896.[[note]]Peaceful transition of power had been the norm since John Adams quietly returned home after his failed reelection bid in 1800, and losing candidates privately conceding happened since then, such as Stephen Douglas conceding to Abraham Lincoln after the 1860 election, but not until the 1896 elections did a formal statement of concession by the losing candidate become the norm.[[/note]] Died in office: Third president to be assassinated, specifically by anarchist Leon Czolgosz, [[ForWantOfANail ironically next to an X-ray machine that could have been used to save his life]].[[note]]Though he didn't die of the shots themselves but of subsequent gangrene on the wounds.[[/note]]

# UsefulNotes/JamesMadison (1809–17, Democratic-Republican). Shortest president[[note]]Five feet, four inches (163 cm).[[/note]]. Drafted the Virginia Plan, which became the basis of the Constitution, wrote several of the Federalist Papers, and helped get Virginia to agree to the Constitution. Served as a representative and later as the 5th Secretary of State under Jefferson. [[UsefulNotes/WarOf1812 First wartime president on U.S. soil]]; the British burnt the White House down during his second term. Post-presidency, succeeded Jefferson once again as Chancellor of the University of Virginia and was one of the last living Founding Fathers before he passed away in 1836.

# UsefulNotes/AndrewJohnson (1865–69, National Union/de facto Democrat). A representative (1843–53), governor (1853–57), and senator (1857–62) of Tennessee and the only Southern senator to remain with the Union after secession; Lincoln subsequently made him military governor of his state and his running mate for his second election campaign on a unity platform. He became the third VP to inherit the office after their predecessor's death and the first to gain office by his predecessor's assassination.[[note]]In fact, Lincoln's assassination was part of a conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln, Johnson, and Secretary of State William Seward the same night. Johnson escaped the attack as his would-be assassin, George Atzerodt, got drunk instead of attempting to kill Johnson, who would still approve the executions of Atzerodt and three other conspirators for conspiracy within several months after Booth’s ''own'' murder by Boston Corbett.[[/note]] He is a fixture of modern lists of "worst presidents" due to his Southern sympathies resulting in a complete shift in executive priorities from his predecessor, including obstruction of the supermajority Republican Congress' proposals regarding Reconstruction and civil rights for freed slaves, overall stubbornness and ego, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and]] [[TheAlcoholic alcoholism]]. First president to ''officially'' be impeached, but was acquitted [[DecidedByOneVote by a single vote]]; his charge was mostly politically motivated, as he ignored (probably unconstitutional) laws that Congress passed just to limit his power that were repealed soon after he left office. Also oversaw improved relations with Britain and signed the Alaska Purchase. Despite his unpopularity, he was the only former president to be elected to the Senate, though he died in 1875 soon after returning to Congress.[[note]]For the next two years, there were no living former presidents.[[/note]]