Presidents Day Article

[Foggy]

I found this in the editor page of my local newspaper.

I Learned things I didn't know of some of the former occupants of the White House....it's not really political but more towards general knowledge of those whom have lived in the White House for Presidents Day.

http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.c...ouse/97943722/

Sis Bowman Columnist 11:38 a.m. ET Feb. 18, 2017

If you follow the news at all, you must certainly know that the office of the president is under attack. Pundits are saying they have never seen anything like this in their lifetimes.

Since tomorrow is Presidents Day, I decided to research a few presidential facts myself. I discovered some pretty interesting data.

Remember back in 2000 when it took 35 days to figure out whether George W. Bush won the election? Well, in 1876 it took four months to decide if Rutherford B. Hayes or Samuel Tilden had won the election. Democrats were enraged over the final decision. Sound familiar?

Until this year the oldest person to be elected president was Ronald Reagan at age 69. Donald Trump broke that record at age 70. John F. Kennedy was the youngest to be elected at 43, but he wasn’t our youngest president.

That distinction is held by Theodore Roosevelt. He was 42 when he took over the office after William McKinley was assassinated.

Much is being made of the fact that Donald Trump has no pets. Perhaps that will change in the future. Every president from George Washington’s many dogs and his two horses, Nelson and Prescott, has had animals. Even Harry Truman had a pet goat named Dewey’s Goat.

President Trump is our 45th president, but actually there have only been 44. Grover Cleveland was elected for two non-consecutive terms so he was counted twice, for 22nd and 24th.

And a few terms that are used now came from our presidents. You hear about people who are lobbyists for special groups. The reason this is the case is that President Ulysses Grant liked to spend many evenings at the Willard Hotel near the White House.

He would sit in the lobby and enjoy smoking a cigar. People discovered that if they wanted a favor from him, they had the chance to ask him then. Hence they were called lobbyists.

James Buchanan was the only president that remained unmarried and, until this year, President Reagan was the only President who was divorced. There was no title for the wives of presidents before 1849.

President Zachary Taylor coined the term “First Lady” when he called Dolley Madison that at her state funeral. It didn’t become popular until 1877 when Rutherford B. Hayes was in the White House and his wife Lucy was called that.

Six of our presidents had no children. William Tyler made up for that by having the most. He was the father of 15 kids.

Donald Trump was elected as a Washington outsider to “drain the swamp,” as he put it. Actually there have been 18 other presidents who never served in Congress. Of course we know of George Washington, but did you know Warren Harding was a newspaper publisher in Ohio? And Herbert Hoover was a mining expert.

Our nation was run for two years by two people who were never elected. Gerald Ford was appointed as vice president by Richard Nixon. Ford became the head of state when Nixon resigned and appointed Nelson Rockefeller as his veep.

America has made it through many difficult times. So for those who were unhappy with this election, just hang in there.

I wish you all a happy Presidents Day on Monday. I still celebrate Washington’s birthday on the 22nd. He was the only president to receive a unanimous vote.

Sis Bowman can be reached at eebowman@columbus.rr.com.

[Penny Lane]

Originally Posted by Foggy

President Zachary Taylor coined the term “First Lady” when he called Dolley Madison that at her state funeral. It didn’t become popular until 1877 when Rutherford B. Hayes was in the White House and his wife Lucy was called that.

Jackie Kennedy hated the term "First Lady". She said it sounded like a name for a race horse.

[Babalu]

Originally Posted by Foggy

I found this in the editor page of my local newspaper.

I Learned things I didn't know of some of the former occupants of the White House....it's not really political but more towards general knowledge of those whom have lived in the White House for Presidents Day.

I wish you all a happy Presidents Day on Monday. I still celebrate Washington’s birthday on the 22nd. He was the only president to receive a unanimous vote.

Did you know that George Washington was actually born on February 11th, not the 22nd? In 1755, 11 days were skipped to correct the calendar. George Washington was born in 1732. So until 1755 his birthday was February 11th.

[IllinoisTVFan]

Originally Posted by Penny Lane

Jackie Kennedy hated the term "First Lady". She said it sounded like a name for a race horse.

What I always found fascinating is that First Lady doesn't always mean the wife. It can be, and usually is, but some presidents didn't have wives so their daughters/nieces/sisters etc took over the duties.

Years ago my mother bough this book on presidents at the store where each president up to that time (Clinton) was in the book. I enjoyed reading it.

[MrCleveland]

Here's one for Harry Truman...

He actually had no middle name, but kept the S in his name. Here's why...

In explanation he said that the "S" did not stand for any name but was a compromise between the names of his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young. He was later heard to say that the use of the period dated after 1962 as well as before.