Everyone of us has our own strange habits, it could be a funny, scary, or weirdest habits that sometimes, we are embarrassed or often we feel so shy about it. What if those famous celebrities have their own “peculiar behavior” just like the President of the United States. Here are some names of US Presidents with their strange facts in life.

1)  George Washington Official First U.S. President

George Washington

George Washington

Mount Rushmore, (left to right) Sculptures of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln represent the first 130 years of the history of the United States.

Mount Rushmore, (left to right) Sculptures of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln represent the first 130 years of the history of the United States

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 , and died on  December 14, 1799 due to a disease known as quinsy or epiglottitis and died at age 67. During those times they use a medical practice known as bloodletting (withdrawing small quantity of blood from patients) to prevent or cure illnesses. He was not actually the First President of the United States, as claimed but it was John Hanson. Washington was elected the first president by unanimous choice in 1788, and he served two terms in office. The strange facts  about George Washington”s teeth, were made from human and animal teeth, and had springs, that if he relaxed, the teeth would break. His pets are; a donkey, a Royal gift, three gazehounds dogs, four Black and Tan Coonhounds dogs (used for hunting raccoons) and Nelson the horse.

John Hanson (First US President)

John Hanson Portrait 1770

John Hanson Portrait 1770

John Hanson, was born on April 14, 1721, and died on November 22, 1783 because of poor health after a year,  retiring  from public office as President of Congress. He was a merchant and public official from Maryland during the era of the American Revolution. He was the first person elected as the presiding officer in November 1781, thus some historians claiming John Hanson as the First President of the United States. He also approved and authorized the Great Seal of the United States. John Hanson‘s grave site has been lost, at his nephew’s plantation Oxon Hill Manor in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Mga resulta ng larawan para sa John Adams  2nd President of the United States"

John Adams  2nd President of the United States

John Adams, 2nd US President

John Adams, 2nd US President

John Adams at age 89

John Adams at age 89

John Adams was the second President of the United States from 1797 to 1801, and served earlier as the first Vice President of the United States. He was born on October 30, 1735 or Old Style  October 19, 1735. On October 25, 1764, five days before his 29th birthday, Adams married his third cousin Abigail Smith (1744–1818).  Sixteen months before John Adams’ death, his son, John Quincy Adams, became the sixth President of the United States (1825–1829). John Adams died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, at his home. Fifty years after the declaration of the United States Independence, John Adams last words on his death bed was, “Thomas Jefferson will survive”, (they are close friends), but Adams was not aware that Jefferson died few hours ahead of him, strange? His death left Charles Caroll of Carollton as the last surviving signatory of the Declaration of Independence. John Quincy Adams was the president during John Adams death at the age of 90 years and 247 days old. Adams official pets are his three dogs Juno, Mark, and Satan, and  Cleopatra, his horse.

Thomas Jefferson 3rd President of the United States

Thomas Jefferson 3rd US President

Thomas Jefferson 3rd US President

Thomas Jefferson portrait painting

Thomas Jefferson portrait painting

Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 or the Old Style calendar, April 2, 1743 . Jefferson was the third President of the United States (1801 to 1809). He was an American Founding Father and the principal author of the 1776 Declaration of Independence. – July 4, 1826)  In July 1825, Jefferson’s health began to deteriorate, and by June 1826 he was confined to bed. He died of complications from  toxemia, uremia and pneumonia on July 4, 1826, 5oth Independence Day (strange fact, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on the same day). Before Jefferson’s death, he was at ease with the idea of death and was ready to die, and called his immediate family around his bedside. Then on July 4, at 10 minutes before one o’clock, he finally died at age 83. He had his official pets, Dick the mockingbird, two Briards dogs and two bear cubs and his horse Caractacus. Jefferson invented the swivel chair, coat hanger, hideaway bed (wall bed, love seats or sofa converted into bed), and dumbwaiter (small lifts or elevators).

James Madison, Jr. 4th President of the United States

James Madison 4th President

James Madison 4th President

James Madison, Jr. was born on March 16, 1751 or the Old Style calendar March 5, was the fourth President of the United States (1809 to 1817). He is known as the Father of the Constitution and as the key champion and United States Bill of Rights.   – June 28, 1836)   In 1826, after the death of Jefferson, Madison was appointed as the University of Virginia second Rector (“President”) and his last occupation. He retained the position as college chancellor for ten years until his death in 1836.   James Madison was 43 years old when he married for the first time, which was considered late in that era. On September 15, 1794, James Madison married a young widow, Dolley Payne Todd, at Harewood (now, Jefferson County, West Virginia). Madison adopted John Payne Todd, Todd’s one surviving son,after the marriage. Dolley Payne was born May 20, 1768, at the New Garden Quaker settlement in North Carolina, where her parents, John Payne and Mary Coles Payne, lived briefly. Dolley’s sister, Lucy Payne was married to George Steptoe Washington,  President Washington’s nephew.  His pet is a Macaw parrot.

James Monroe 5th President of the United States

James Monroe 5th president

James Monroe 5th president

James Monroe, National Portrait Gallery

James Monroe, National Portrait Gallery

James Monroe was born on April 28, 1758, and was the fifth President of the United States (1817 to 1825) – July 4, 1831). Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the third President to die on Independence Day, July 4, 1831 due to heart failure and tuberculosis, and his term was marked by an “Era of Good Feelings”. Monroe’s health began to deteriorate, and by the end of the 1820s and John Quincy Adams visited him there in April 1831. His death came 55 years after the U.S. Declaration of Independence was proclaimed and 5 years after the death of two other Founding Fathers who became Presidents of the United States, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Strange facts about Monroe, he was the last president who had never been photographed and whose portraits are preserved today only on paintings, and the U.S. President to wear a powdered wig tied in a queue, tricorne (style of hat that was popular during the 18th century) and knee breaches (“culottes” commonly worn by gentlemen of the European upper-classes from the early 19th century), according to the 18th century old fashioned style, in which he gained the nickname “The Last Cocked Hat”. His pets is a Siberian Husky dog called Sebastian and one Spaniel gun dog.

John Quincy Adams 6th U.S. President

John Quincy Adams, 6th US President, son of John Adams

John Quincy Adams, 6th US President, son of John Adams

John Quincy Adams 1818 portrait by Gilbert Stuart

John Quincy Adams 1818 portrait by Gilbert Stuart

John Quincy Adams was born on July 11, 1767, was the sixth President of the United States and the son of John Adams, the 2nd President of the United States and Abigail Adams. On February 23, 1848, Adams died from a massive cerebral hemorrhage, 2 days after he collapsed inside the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. His last words were “This is the last of earth. I am content.” He passed away at 7:20 P.M. John Adams and John Quincy Adams, were the first father and son to each serve as president (the others being George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush). Both Adams served only one term as President of the United States. Quincy Adams, was the only President to have a First Lady born outside the United States (she was born in London, United Kingdom). Strange facts about John Quincy Adams, he loves to swim naked in Potomac River. One instance, when Anny Royal, a reporter, came to the shore and sat on Adams clothes, and decline to leave until Quincy Adams would give an interview, and known as the first female to interview a president. His pets are American Alligator and silkworms. 

Andrew Jackson 7th President of the United States

Jackson in 1824, painting by Thomas Sully

Jackson in 1824, painting by Thomas Sully

Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson 1845, 7th President of the United States

Andrew Jackson 1845, 7th President of the United States

Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767 , and was the seventh President of the United States (1829 to 1837). Because of being aggressive and tough, Jackson was nicknamed “Old Hickory“, he fought in duels which some are fatal to his opponents. Jackson was a wealthy slaveholder, and supported a limited and small ‘federal government’ when he was elected president in 1828.  Jackson met Rachel Donelson Robards (an unhappy wife  of Captain Lewis Robards) because of jealousy rage between the couple, and separated in 1790. Jackson married Rachel after hearing that Robards had obtained a divorce, but the said divorce was “incomplete”, thus the marriage of Jackson and Rachel was invalid and bigamous. In 1794, they remarried after the official divorce came out. On December 22 1828,  Rachel died of a heart attack, two weeks after her husband’s victory in the election and two months before Jackson took office as President. John Quincy Adams was blamed by Jackson, for Rachel’s death because the episode ridiculing his wife was repeatedly used in the campaign of 1828. He felt that this had hastened her death and never forgave Adams. On May 1806, Jackson challenged Charles Dickinson for publishing immoral attack on Jackson in the local newspaper, and it resulted to a duel. During the duel, Dickinson shot Jackson in the ribs before Jackson returned the fatal shot. Jackson and his friend, Thomas  Overton, decided to allow Dickinson to fire first his gun, and Jackson would wait and take careful aim at Dickinson (which Dickinson did fire first, hitting Jackson in the chest, and this bullet struck Jackson near to his heart, and it would risk his life if it would be removed). Under the rules of dueling , Dickinson had to remain still as Jackson took aim and shot and killed him.  Andrew Jackson, was 6 feet, 1 inch tall, 130 to 140 pounds or 64 kg, and red hair, but by the age of 61 and became the President,  it turned grey hair . Jackson had blue eyes, but one of the most “sickly Presidents“, suffering from abdominal pains, chronic headaches, whooping cough caused by a “musket ball” in his lungs that was never removed, causing him spitting blood sometimes. Jackson died on June 8, 1845 at the age of 78 from chronic tuberculosis, dropsy (edema) and heart failure.  His pets are five horse, fighting cocks and Pol, a parrot who was taught to swear. Jackson had a lot of strange facts in life.

Martin Van Buren  8th President of the United States

Martin Van Buren 8th President

Martin Van Buren 8th President

Martin Van Buren 1858 portrait by GPA Healy

Martin Van Buren 1858 portrait by GPA Healy

Martin Van Buren was born on December 5, 1782, and the eight President of the United States (1837 to 1841). Under the Andrew Jackson administration, Buren was the 10th Secretary of States from 1829 to 1831. Van Buren was the first President from Dutch family, and the firs president to be born a United States citizen, unlike his predecessors having been born British citizen before the American Revolution. He is also the only president not to have spoken English as his first language, having grown up as Dutch speaking American citizen from New York, strange? Van Buren married his first cousin and childhood sweetheart, Hannah Hoes on February 21, 1807.  After 12 years of marriage, Hannah Van Buren died of  tuberculosis on February 5, 1819 at the age of 35, and Martin Van Buren never married again. After Martin Van Buren retired to his home in Kinderhook, his health failed and became bedridden with a bronchial asthma and heart failure and died on July 24, 1862 at the age of 79.  Martin owned two tiger cubs.

William Henry Harrison , 9th US President

William Henry Harrison, 9th US President

William Henry Harrison, 9th US President

William Henry Harrison born on February 9, 1773, and was the ninth President of the United States (1841), and the first President to die in office, and the “oldest President” to take office at the age of 68 years and 23 days old when inaugurated, and the last President to be born before the United States Declaration of Independence. On his 32nd day in office, on April 4, 1841, Harrison died of pneumonia complications, serving the shortest tenure as President of the United States. Strange facts can be unpredictable . His pets is called Sukey, a cow and one goat.

John Tyler, 10th US President

John Tyler 10th US President

John Tyler 10th US President

John Tyler was born on March 29, 1790 , and was the tenth President of the United States (1841 to 1845), and was the first to succeed to the office of President on the death of the incumbent, William Henry Harrison. Although many had praised Tyler’s administration, historians considered his term as less visible and unclear president, with little American cultural memories.  Tyler fathered many children with his two wives, more than any other President of the United States history. His first marriage to Leticia Christian-Tyler, he had 8 children, but Leticia died in the White House September 10, 1842. Then he married again, Julia Gardiner Tyler, his second wife and had 7 children. In his early days of being a president, he was attacked by Joshua Leavitt, an abolitionist publisher, accused Tyler that he fathered several sons and “sold” with his slaves, prompting response from the Tyler administration newspaper The Madisonian. It was reported that number of African-American families today have descent from Tyler, but no evidence of such a link has ever surfaced. Tyler is the oldest former President with living grandchildren, and none of the succeeding Presidents have living grandchildren until James A. Garfield, who served forty years after Tyler, with Abraham Lincoln and bachelor James Buchanan each having no living descendants of any kind. After his term from the White House, he fell victim to repeated cases of dysentery, had many aches and pains in the last eight years of his life. On January 12, 1862, Tyler start complaining of chills and dizziness, he vomited and collapsed, and was revived, yet the next day he admitted to the same symptoms. He was treated for the rest of the week, but his health did not improve, And on January 18, 1862, as he lay in bed the previous night he began suffocating, and Julia summoned his doctor. Just after midnight, Tyler took a last sip of brandy, and told his doctor, “I am going. Perhaps it is best.”It is believed that he had suffered a stroke.  His pet is an Italian Greyhound known as  Le Beau, and a canary called Johnny Ty, and a horse whom he called The General.

James Knox Polk , 11th US President

James_Polk 11th US President

James_Polk 11th US President

James Knox Polk was born on November 2, 1795, and was the 11th President of the United States (1845 to 1849).  As he promised to serve only one term and did not run for reelection. After three months  end of his term, he died of cholera on June 15, 1849.  Polk was ranked favorably on the list of greatest presidents by the  Scholars, for his ability to set an agenda and achieve all of it. Polk has been called the “least known consequential president” of the United States.  During Polk’s administration, in the White House, his health became poor. Polk was full of enthusiasm and vigor when he entered office, Polk left on March 4, 1849, exhausted by his years of public service. He lost weight and had deep lines on his face and dark circles under his eyes, and was believed to have contracted cholera in New Orleans, Louisiana, on a goodwill tour of the South. Among the previous Presidents,  Polk had the shortest retirement at 103 days. He was the youngest former president to die in retirement at the age of 53. Polk and wife Sarah Childress, never had a children.

Zachary Taylor 12th US President

Zachary Taylor 12th US President

Zachary Taylor 12th US President

official White House picture ZacharyTaylor

official White House picture ZacharyTaylor

Zachary Taylor  was born on November 24, 1784, and was the 12th President of the United States (1849 to 1850), uninterested in politics, he was an American Military Leader( serving 40 years in the military), and known as ” Old Rough and Ready“. As president, Taylor angered many Southerners by taking a moderate stance on the issue of slavery. On July 9, 1850,  Taylor died of gastroenteritis, 16 months after his inauguration, and he was the third-shortest tenure of any President. President Taylor was succeeded by his Vice President,Millard Fillmore. Taylor was the last President to “own slaves” while in office. Taylor was also the second president to die in office, preceded by William Henry Harrison who died while serving as President nine years earlier, as well as the only President elected from Louisiana. Zachary Taylor’s cause of death has never been fully established and very strange for other people.  On July 4, 1850, Taylor was known to have consumed large amounts of iced water, cold milk, green apples, and cherries after attending holiday celebrations and the laying of the cornerstone of the Washington Monument. Several days after, he became severely ill with an unknown digestive ailment, and believed he was dying.  He died within the hour, reports listed the cause of death as “bilious diarrhea, or a bilious cholera”. But the Scholars believed it was a kind of severe gastroenteritis. A former University of Florida professor, Clara Rising, had a tentative explanation for an observation about Taylor’s death in 1980, that he was “murdered by poison”. Rising persuaded Taylor’s immediate living relative for exhumation for testing the remains. The remains was exhumed on June 17, 1991, and samples from hair, fingernail and other tissues were removed for radiological studies by the Kentucky Chief Medical Examiner. Then the remains of Taylor was returned and reinterred to the cemetery with appropriate honors. The Neutron activation analysis conducted at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory result, there are no “evidence of poisoning”, the arsenic levels were too slow, thus the analysis was that Taylor died of cholera morbus or acute gastroenteritis, as Washington had ‘open sewers, and his food and drinks might have bee contaminated. He was bled and blistered and treated by his doctors with ipecac ( roots of ipecacuanha plants), calomel (mercury(I)chloride chemical compound), opium or poppy tears (sap), and quinine a reducing malaria fever medicine.

Millard Fillmore 13th U.S. President

Millard Fillmore 13th US President

Millard Fillmore 13th US President

Official White House portrait of Millard Fillmore

Official White House portrait of Millard Fillmore

Millard Fillmore was born on January 7, 1800 and was the 13th President of the United States (1850 to 1853) and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of the President, as the Vice President of Zachary Taylor he assumed the presidency after Taylor’s death. Throughout the Civil War, Fillmore opposed President Lincoln and during Reconstruction supported President Johnson. He commanded the Union Continentals, a corps of home guards of males over the age of 45 from the New York Upstate area.  Fillmore died on March 8, 1874 at 11:10 pm, of  severe stroke. His last words were alleged to be, upon being fed some soup, “the nourishment is palatable.”  He owns two ponies he called them  Mason and Dixon.

Franklin Pierce 14th U. S. President

Franklin Pierce 14th US President

Franklin Pierce 14th US President

Franklin Pierce

Franklin Pierce

Franklin Pierce was born on November 23, 1804, he was he 14th President of the United States (1853 to 1857), he was from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a ‘doughface‘(a politician, who is perceived to be pliable and moldable). Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War.  Abandoned by his party, Pierce was not renominated to run in the 1856 presidential election and was replaced by James Buchanan as the Democratic candidate. After losing the Democratic nomination, Pierce continued from his alcoholism, affecting his marriage to Jane Means Appleton-Pierce and fell apart. During the Civil war, his reputation was destroyed, when he declared support for the Confederacy, and personal correspondence between Pierce and Jefferson Davis, the Confederate President was leaked to the press. Pierce died in 1869 from liver cirrhosis. Pierce was the youngest President to have taken office, until Ulysses S. Grant took office in 1869 at age 46. Pierce had three children all of whom died in childhood; Franklin Pierce, Jr. (February 2, 1836 – February 5, 1836, 3 days old baby), Frank Robert Pierce (August 27, 1839 – November 14, 1843), died at the age of four from epidemic typhus, and Benjamin Pierce (April 13, 1841 – January 6, 1853), died at the age of 11 in a train accident, and never see their father became the president. On January 6, 1853, two months before the election, the Pierce family was trapped in a train, when their car was derailed and rolled down an embankment near Andover, Massachusetts. Pierce and his wife Jane survived, but saw their 11 year old son, Benjamin crushed to death. It was believed, since Benjamin’s death from that tragic accident, where he was decapitated, and Pierced covered him with a sheet, hoping to spare his wife, but Jane saw their son’s tragic death; Pierce began his presidency in mourning after weeks he won. Pierce died on October 8, 1869 at 4:49 am, at age 64. He had seven miniature Oriental dogs and two Japanese birds.

James Buchanan, Jr. 15th President of the United States

James Buchanan , 15th US President

James Buchanan , 15th US President

James Buchanan, Jr., the 15th President of the United States (1857 to 1861), was born on April 23, 1791 . He died on June 1, 1868, due to respiratory illness at the age of 77. He is the only president from Pennsylvania and the only president who remained a bachelor.  Harriet Lane, his niece played the role of the First Lady. Buchanan’s view of record was that secession was illegal, but that going to war to stop it was also illegal, ranking by historians as one of the worst Presidents.   In 1819, Buchanan was engaged to Ann Caroline Coleman, the daughter of wealthy iron manufacturing businessman Robert Coleman. Buchanan spent little time with her during the courtship, he was extremely busy with his law firm and political projects during the 1819 Panic, which took him away from Coleman for weeks at a time. Rumors spread that Buchanan was marrying Coleman because of her wealth, but Buchanan, never spoke publicly of his feelings or motives to Coleman. Ann broke off the engagement, and soon died from believed to hysteria producing death on December 9, 1819, but later known caused of death was overdose of laudanum, a tincture concentrated opium. Speculations spread that Buchanan and his close friend William Rufus King, Alabama Senator, has an intimate relationship and believed Buchanan was gay. His official pets is a Newfoundland dog named Lara, and Punch, a Toy Terrier dog and an Eagle.

 Abraham Lincoln 16th U.S. President

Abraham Lincoln, November 1863

Abraham Lincoln, November 1863

Lincoln in 1860, without beard, photographed by Alexander Hessler

Lincoln in 1860, without beard, photographed by Alexander Hessler

Abraham Lincoln Oil Painting 1869 Restored

Abraham Lincoln Oil Painting 1869 Restored

Abraham Lincoln  was born on  February 12, 1809, and he was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 15, 1865.  A well known actor, John Wilkes Booth and a Confederate spy from Maryland, assassinated Abraham Lincoln, Booth crept up from behind and at about 10:13 pm, aimed at the back of Lincoln’s head and fired at point-blank range, wounding the President critically. Major Henry Rathbone momentarily grappled with Booth, but Booth stabbed him and escaped.  Strange facts about Abraham Lincoln, that he grew a beard  because of a letter from a 11-year old girl, telling him he should grow a beard because he had a thin face, and women will like him and he will become the president.  Abe (as he was fondly called) Lincoln, was suffering from melancholy, a type of clinical depression. Lincoln’s sexual orientation was also the topic of debate among scholars. Lincoln had four children from his wife, Mary Todd. But C.A. Tripp, his psychologist observed, that Lincoln had distant relationship with women, more than his relationship with number of men in his life. One instance in Lincoln’s life, was when he met Joshua Fry Speed in 1837, in Springfield, Illinois, they lived together for four years, sharing the same bed, and developed a “special friendship” until his tragic death in 1865. Captain David Derickson, was Lincoln’s bodyguard and constant companion, they also shared the same bed, during the absences of Lincoln’s wife, Mary. It was the subject of gossips.  He had pets, two goats whom he named Nanny and Nanko, Jack the Turkey, two dogs named Fido and Jip, a horse and rabbit.

Andrew Johnson 17th President of the United States

Andrew Johnson 17th US President

Andrew Johnson 17th US President

Andrew Johnson, the 17th President of the United States (1865 to 1869)was born on December 29, 1808. As Vice President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincolnafter he was assassinated.  The inauguration of Andrew Johnson as Abraham Lincoln’s vice-president in 1865 was inflict damaged slightly by his strange behavior, and the fact that Johnson was incredibly drunk, his reason of drinking whiskey to medicate his “Typhoid fever” that time.

Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American Civil War.    Johnson’s administration was ranked very poor in historical ranking by the scholars, especially among the three.  Strange facts about Johnson ,during a Congressional recess, Johnson died from a stroke  near Elizabethon, Tennessee, on July 31, 1875. He was buried with his body wrapped around in an American flag,  just outside Greeneville and a copy of the U.S. Constitution placed under his head, according to his wishes.  His pets are the white mice he fed found in his bedroom.

Ulysses S. Grant 18th President of the United States

Ulysses Grant 1870-1880

Ulysses Grant 1870-1880

President Grant with his wife, Julia, and son, Jesse, in 1872.

President Grant with his wife, Julia, and son, Jesse, in 1872.

Ulysses S. Grant, was the 18th President of the United States (1869 to 1877), was born on April 27, 1822. He palyed a dominant role in the second half of the Civil war. Strange facts about Grant, while he was still the President, he was issued speeding ticket for $20 dollars fine riding his horse too fast down at Washington street. He was also the first President to run against a woman candidate, Virginia Woodhull in 1872, and  Ulysses S. Grant was also known as ‘Unconditional Surrender Grant’. Grant died of throat cancer on July 23, 1885 at the age of 63 in Mount McGregor. He owns pet horses Jennie, Julia, Mary and St. Louis, his two ponies Billy Button and Reb, a giant breed of dog Newfoundland named Faithful, and Butcher Boy, Cincinnatus, Egypt, and Jeff Davis his wartime mount.

Rutherford Birchard Hayes 19th U.S. President

Rutherford B. Hayes 19th US President

Rutherford B. Hayes 19th US President

White House portrait of Rutherford B. Hayes

White House portrait of Rutherford B. Hayes

Rutherford Birchard Hayes the 19th President of the United States (1877 -1881) was born on October 4, 1822.  – January 17, 1893). He oversaw the end of Reconstruction as a President,  and the United States’ entry into the Second Industrial Revolution.  Hayes and his wife, Lucy, were known for their policy of keeping the White House an alcohol-free, giving rise to her nickname “Lemonade Lucy“. The first reception at the Hayes White House included wine, but the President was dismayed  seeing his ambassadors, cabinet members with drunken behavior and since then, alcohol was not served again in the Hayes White House. Critics charged Hayes with parsimony, but Hayes spent more money, from his personal budget after the ban, ordering that any savings from eliminating alcohol be used on more lavish entertainment.  Lucy Hayes died in 1889, and this made Hayes very sad.  Hayes died of complications of a heart attack at his home on January 17, 1893 and his final words were; “I know that I’m going where Lucy is.”   He had lot of pets such as a Cocker Spaniel dog named Dot,   Hector the Newfoundland dog ,  Duke the English Mastiff dog breed,  Grim the Greyhound dog,  Otis the Miniature Schnauzer dog, Juno, Jet and Shep the Hunting dogs, two Siamese cats Piccolomini  and Miss Pussy, the first Siamese cat in the United States.

  James Abraham Garfield 20th President of the United States

James Abram Garfield

James Abram Garfield

James Abram Garfield was born on November 19, 1831 and served as the 20th President of the United States  – September 19, 1881)  Garfield’s presidency lasted just 200 days, from March 4, 1881, until his death on September 19, 1881, when he was assassinated by Charles J. Guiteau as a result on July 2, 1881. The shorter presidency term was of William Henry Harrison, he served only 32 days as President . Garfield was the second of four United States Presidents who were assassinated. Strange facts about James Garfield, he has unique talent, He could write Latin with one hand, while his other hand could write in Greek at the same time. On the morning of July 2, 1881, President Garfield was on his way to his Alma mater, Williams College, accompanied by his two sons James and Harry, James G. Blaine and Robert Todd Lincoln where he was scheduled to deliver a speech. One bullet grazed Garfield’s arm; the second bullet was thought later to have possibly lodged near his liver but could not be found; and upon autopsy was located behind the pancreas. On September 19, 1881 at 10:20 pm, Monday, President Garfield died from massive heart attack and a ruptured splenic artery aneurysm, blood poisoning  and   bronchial  pneumonia. He had official pets, a horse he named Kit and Veto the dog.

Chester Alan Arthur 21st US President

Chester Arthur 21st US President

Chester Arthur 21st US President

Official White House portrait of Chester A. Arthur by Daniel Huntington

Official White House portrait of Chester A. Arthur by Daniel Huntington

Chester Alan Arthur  was born October 5, 1829 and served as the 21st President of the United States 1881 to 1885), became president following the death of James A. Garfield after the assassination. – November 18, 1886). After becoming the President, Arthur was diagnosed with Bright’s disease (a kidney ailment but reffered to as nephritis today).  He attempted to keep his condition private, but by 1883 rumors of his illness began to circulate.  By that time he had become thinner and more aged in appearance, as well as less energetic in keeping up with the demands of the presidency. After his vacation in New London, Connecticut in 1886, he returned very ill and, on November 16, ordered nearly all of his papers, both personal and official, burned.  The next morning, Arthur suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and never regained consciousness, he died the following day November 18, 1886, at the age of 57.  He owns three horses.
Stephen Grover Cleveland  22nd US President

Stephen Grover Cleveland 22nd US Pres

Stephen Grover Cleveland 22nd US President

Oil painting of Grover Cleveland, painted in 1899 by Anders Zorn

Oil painting of Grover Cleveland, painted in 1899 by Anders Zorn

Stephen Grover Cleveland born March 18, 1837, served as the 22nd and 24th President of the United States (Cleveland is the only President to served two non-consecutive terms 1885 to 1889 and 1893 to 1897) and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents.  Cleveland entered the White House as a bachelor. Rose Cleveland, his sister, acted as the White House hostess for the first two years of his administration.   On June 2, 1886, Cleveland married Frances Folsom in the White House Blue Room, and the second president to marry while in office, and the only president to have a wedding in the White House.  This marriage was unusual because Cleveland was the executor of Oscar Folsom’s estate and had supervised Frances’ upbringing after her father’s death, but the public did not take exception to the match. Frances Folsom Cleveland, at the age of 21,  remains the youngest First Lady, and the public soon warmed to her beauty and warm personality. The Cleveland’s had five children. In the midst of the fight for repeal of Free Silver coinage in 1893, Cleveland sought the advice of the White House doctor, Dr. O’Reilly, about soreness on the roof of his mouth and a crater-like edge ulcer with a granulated surface on the left side of Cleveland’s hard palate, and specimens of the tumor were sent anonymously to the army medical museum. The diagnosis was not a malignant cancer but the diagnosis was epithelioma (abnormal growth of the epithelium). Cleveland’s surgery was kept secretly from the public, to avoid further panic that might worsen the financial depression, and was performed aboard Oneida yacht sailing off the Long Island. The medical team sedated Cleveland with ether and nitrous oxide, removing the parts of his upper jaw and hard palate.  The size of the tumor and the extent of the operation left Cleveland’s mouth disfigured. Cleveland enjoyed many years of life after the tumor was removed, but the debate whether the tumor was a carcinoma , ameloblastoma or benign salivary mixed tumor also called  pleomorphic adenoma after Cleveland’s death on June 24, 1908. In the 1980s, analysis of the specimen finally confirmed the tumor to be verrucous carcinoma,   a low-grade epithelial cancer with a low potential for metastasis.His pets are  Hector- Japanese Poodle and mockingbirds.
Benjamin Harrison 23rd President of the United States 

Benjamin Harrison 23rd US President

Benjamin Harrison 23rd US President

Official White House portrait of Benjamin Harrison, painted by Eastman Johnson

Official White House portrait of Benjamin Harrison, painted by Eastman Johnson

Benjamin Harrison born on August 20, 1833, and served as the 23rd President of the United States (1889 to 1893) – March 13, 1901). Harrison is the grandson of 9th U.S. President William Henry Harrison, making him the only U.S. president from Indiana and the only president to be a grandson of another president. In 1896, Harrison remarried to Mary Scott Lord Dimmick at the age of 62. Mary Dimmick-Harrison, was the niece and former secretary of his deceased wife, she was a widow at the age of 37, a full 25 years junior of Harrison’s age.  Harrison developed what was thought to be influenza or grippe in February 1901. He was treated with steam vapor inhalation and oxygen, but his condition worsened. He died from pneumonia on Wednesday, March 13, 1901, at the age of 67, at his home. He had strange pets at the White House, a goat he named Whiskers, a Collie dog called Dash, and two Opossums he named Mr. Reciprocity and Mr. Protection.
William McKinley 25th President of the United States

William McKinley 25th US President

William McKinley 25th US President

William McKinley was born on January 29, 1843, and served as the 25th U.S. President from March 4, 1897 until his death on September 14, 1901. His presidency began a period over a third of a century dominated by the Republican Party, until his assassination in September 1901. Czolgosz an anarchist had initially decided to get near McKinley, and on September 4, he decided to assassinate him, but failed. After the failure, Czolgosz made an attempt again on September 5 and waited at the Temple of Music on the Exposition grounds, where the President was to meet the public after his return from Niagara Falls, covering his gun in a handkerchief, and had the chance to go near McKinley, shot McKinley twice in the abdomen, but “survived”. Few days after the shooting McKinley appeared to improve, and his Doctors issued increasingly cheerful bulletins.   By September 12, McKinley’s doctors were confident enough of his condition to allow him toast and coffee. He proved unable to digest the food. Unknown to the doctors, the gangrenethat would kill him was growing on the walls of his stomach, slowly poisoning his blood, making his condition worse and become critically ill on September 13. The following day September 14,1901, Mckinley died at 2:15 am. Czolgosz, put on trial for murder nine days after McKinley’s death, was found guilty, sentenced to death on September 26, and was executed by electric chair on October 29, 1901.  Mckinley owned pets such as  the Yellow-headed Mexican parrot named  Washington Post,  and two Angora kittens, he called  Valeriano Weyler and Enrique DeLome and roosters.
TheodoreTeddyRoosevelt 26th US President

President Theodore Roosevelt 1904, 26th US President

President Theodore Roosevelt 1904, 26th US President

bullet-damaged speech and eyeglass

bullet-damaged speech and eyeglass

TheodoreTeddyRoosevelt was born on  October 27, 1858, he served as the 26th U.S. President (from 1901 to 1909) after William Mckinley was assassinated, and became the youngest President at the age of 42, beating John F. Kennedy as the youngest (by only a year) President of United States. Teddy Roosevelt (which he really disliked being called Teddy) was known for his exuberant personality, range of achievements and interests and as the Progressive Movement leader, known for his “cowboy personality” and healthy masculinity. In 1918, his youngest son Quentin, an American Forces pilot in France, was shot down behind German lines. According to reports the death of his son distressed him so much that Roosevelt never recovered from his loss. Theodore Roosevelt had many strange facts in life; He loves skinny-dipping in the Potomac River during winter, that his left retina was detached leaving him half-blind, (a fact not made public until some years later), he reads tens of thousands of books, at a rate of several a day in multiple languages and considered the most well read of any American politician along with Thomas Jefferson. . Roosevelt led a major expedition to the Amazon jungles but contracted diseases which ruined his health. He died relatively young at the age of 60. Roosevelt has consistently been ranked by scholars as one of the Greatest U.S. Presidents.
Despite his rapidly declining health, Roosevelt remained active to the end of his life. The Boy Scouts of America gave him the title of Chief Scout Citizen, the only person to hold such title. Theodore Roosevelt was the fifth cousin of the 32nd U.S. President and the uncle of Theodore’s wife Eleanor Roosevelt. On January 6, 1919, Roosevelt died in his sleep at Oyster Bay of a coronary thrombosis (heart attack), and long illness from inflammatory rheumatism. On October 14, 1912, while Roosevelt was campaigning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a saloon keeper named John Schrank shot him, but the bullet lodged in his chest only after penetrating his steel eyeglass case and passing through a thick (50 pages) single-folded copy of the speech he was carrying in his jacket. Afterwards, probes and x-ray showed that the bullet had traversed three inches (76 mm) of tissue and lodged in Roosevelt’s chest muscle but did not penetrate the pleura, and it would be more dangerous to attempt to remove the bullet than to leave it in place, and carried it with him for the rest of his life.  Roosevelt was included with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln at the Mount Rushmore Memorial, approved by the Republican President Calvin Coolidge.  His pets are a Bull terrier named Pete, Rat Terrier called Skip, 3 Manchester Terriers named Jack, Peter and Black Jack, a Saint Bernard named Rollo, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever he named Sailor Boy, a Pekingese or Lion Dog called Manchu, two cats he called Tom Quartz and Slippers, a garter snake named Emily Spinach, two ponies named Algonquin and Fedelity, Maude the pig, Josiah the Badger, Jonathan the Piebald rat, Baron Spreckle the Hen, Eli Yale the Macaw bird, and one-legged rooster.
William Howard Taft 27th U.S. President

William Howard Taft 27th President

William Howard Taft 27th President

Official White House portrait of William Howard Taft (1911)

Official White House portrait of William Howard Taft (1911)

President William Howard Taft's cow, Pauline, poses in front of the Navy Building, which is known today as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

President William Howard Taft’s cow, Pauline, poses in front of the Navy Building, which is known today as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

William Howard Taft born on September 15, 1857, served as the 27th U.S. President (1909 to 1913) and the 10th Chief Justice of the United States (1921 to 1930), and the only president to have served both of these offices. Taft retired as Chief Justice on February 3, 1930 because of ill health.    Five weeks following his retirement, Taft died on March 8,1930, the same date as Associate Justice Edward Terry Sanford‘s unexpected death. As it was customary for members of the court to attend the funeral of deceased members, this posed a “logistical nightmare”, necessitating cross-country travel.  Strange facts about William Taft, during his term as President, he was suffering from severe obstructive sleep apnea because of his obesity.  One embarrassing moment of his life,was when Taft was stuck in a bath tub in the White House, and his staff members used butter to dislodge him from the tub. Taft lost approximately 80 pounds (36 kg) and his state of drowsiness problem resolved and, less obviously, his  blood pressure systolic dropped 40–50 mmHg (from 210 mmHg), and this weight loss extended his life too. After his weight loss, he had interest in the outdoors, leading him to explore Alaska. Since 1920, Taft was using a cane made of 250,000 year old petrified wood a gift from Professor of Geology W.S. Foster.  Taft is the last President to have sported facial hair while in office, although Bill Clinton often had a five o clock shadow ( or stubble a regrowth shaven beard). His official pets are  Caruso the dog,  and two cows, Mooly Wooly and Pauline Wayne. Pauline Wayne was a Holstein cow owned by Taft, also known as “Miss Wayne”, but was not Taft’s first presidential cow,  she replaced the lesser-known “Mooley Wooly”, who provided milk for the First Family for a year and a half, but because she could no longer produce milk for the first family, she was replaced by Miss Wayne. You may find this strange  and funny.
Thomas Woodrow Wilson 28th U.S. President

Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow with wife, Edith Wilson, assisting him since he was half-paralyzed

Woodrow with wife, Edith Wilson, assisting him since he was half-paralyzed

sheep kept to trim the White House lawn

sheep kept to trim the White House lawn

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born on December 28, 1856, served as the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. Strange facts about Wilson; he was over 10 years of age before he learned to read, and had difficulties in reading and indicated dyslexia, but as a teenager he learned shorthand by himself.  Wilson’s mother was possibly a hypochondriac (health phobia, worry about having a serious illness) and Wilson himself seemed to think that he was often in poorer health than he really was. He suffered from hypertension at a relatively early age and may have suffered his first stroke at the age of 39.  Wilson is one of only three presidents to be widowed while in office. Then on October 2, 1919, he suffered a serious stroke that almost totally incapacitated him, leaving him paralyzed on his left side body and blind his left eye. He was confined to bed for weeks, sequestered from nearly everyone except his wife and his physician, Dr. Cary Grayson, for at least a few months, he used a wheelchair. Later, he could walk only with the assistance of a cane.  The full extent of his disability was kept from the public until after his death on February 3, 1924.    Woodrow Wilson kept sheep as his pets, to trim the White House lawn.
Warren Gamaliel Harding  29th US President

Warren G. Harding 29th President

Warren G. Harding 29th President

President Warren G. Harding 1921 -1923

President Warren G. Harding 1921 -1923

Warren Gamaliel Harding   was born on November 2, 1865, and served as the 29th U.S. President from 1921 to 1923. Harding a Republican from Ohio, was an influential newspaper publisher. Strange facts about Harding, he is a gambler and played poker twice a week and once put an entire set of White House thumbs up to stake his hand, and lost. Harding suffered form a respiratory disease believed to be pneumonia. He became very exhausted with his planned speech through national press to communicate with the public. Harding was given digitalis and caffeine, to help him relieved momentarily from sleeplessness and heart condition. On August 2, 1923, at 7:35 p.m., he died unexpectedly in the middle of conversation with his wife in the hotel’s presidential suite, and Dr. Sawyer, a doctor friend of the Harding family, said Harding succumbed to a stroke, but doctors disagreed.
Harding’s sudden death led to various theories that he had been poisoned or committed suicide, but suicide theory was set aside since Harding was planning for a second term election. But rumors of poisoning was fueled, which was part of a book “Strange Death of President Harding“, which the author was a former Ohio Gang member and a convicted criminal, and Detective Gaston Means, hired by Mrs. Harding to investigate her husband Warren Harding and his mistress, and suggesting Mrs Harding Poisoned her husband, and her refusal to conduct autopsy only added speculations. After Harding’s strange death, former First Lady Harding gathered all personal documents both official and unofficial and have it burned. According to her, she “took these actions to protect her husband’s Legacy”.

President Harding and Laddie Boy, the loyal dog

President Harding and Laddie Boy, the loyal dog

Laddie Boy was an airedale terrier born on July 26, 1920 owned by US President Warren G. Harding, his loyal pet dog, he had his onw carved chair to sit during cabinet meetings, having his own dog party inviting the neighborhood dogs and served them with dog biscuits. According to the White House staffs, Laddie Boy kept howling three days before Harding’s death. This could be strange but it is a true fact, that our pets can see the coming omen.
Herbert Clark Hoover 31st U.S. President

Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover

Hoover's official White House portrait painted by Elmer Wesley Greene.

Hoover’s official White House portrait painted by Elmer Wesley Greene.

Herbert Clark Hoover was born on August 10, 1874, and served as the 31st U.S. President from 1929 to 1933. Hoover was a mining engineer by profession, and author.  When  Hoover worked in China with his wife, they studied and learned Mandarin Chinese and used it during his tenure at the White House , when they wanted to foil eavesdroppers (listen secretly). Hoover was the first president to use telephone in the White House.  Hoover died following massive internal bleeding at the age of 90 in his New York City suite at 11:35 a.m. on October 20, 1964, after 31 years and seven months, sixteen days after leaving office. To date, he has the longest retirement of any President. Former President Jimmy Carter may surpass the length of Hoover’s retirement on September 7, 2012. At the time of his death he was the second longest-lived president after John Adams,  both were since surpassed by Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. Hoover had outlived by 20 years his wife, Lou Henry Hoover, who had died in 1944, and he was the last living member of the Coolidge administration, and also outlived both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt who died in 1945 and 1962, respectively. By the time of his death, he had rehabilitated his image.  Herbert Hoovers official pets are,  King Tut a Belgian Shepherd ,   Pat the German Shepherd,  Big Ben and Sonnie are Fox Terriers,  Glen a Scotch CollieEskimo dog named Yukonan ,     Irish wolfhound dog called Patrick,   Eaglehurst Gillette a Setter breed  (a gun dog or hunting dog), Weejie a Norwegian Elkhound  and two crocodiles.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt 32nd U.S. President

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Roosevelt in a wheelchair, after Polio made him half-paralyze

Roosevelt in a wheelchair, after Polio made him half-paralyze

FDR with his loyal pet Fala

FDR with his loyal pet Fala

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882, and served as the 32nd U.S. President from 1933 to 1945 – April 12, 1945), also known by his initials, FDR and the only American president to be elected more than two terms  and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic depression and total war. He was rumored to have extra marital affairs, linking to his wife Eleanor’s social secretary, Lucy Mercer, which began soon after she was hired in 1914. Roosevelt promised his wife never to see Lucy again, but secretly Roosevelt still seeing Lucy Mercer Rutherford (she was already married with other man). On April 12, 1945, the day Roosevelt suffered a cerebral hemorrhage causing his death, Lucy Mercer-Rutherford was on his side, in Warm Spring, Georgia.  In August 1921, Franklin Roosevelt contracted a disease known as polio, resulted in permanent paralysis from waist down, but Franklin refused to accept that he was paralyzed, however, he became famous as a polio survivor. His age at 39, attacked by polio disease, are mores consistent with Guillain-Barre syndrome, but since his cerebrospinal fluid was not checked then causes of paralysis may never known. On April 12, afternoon, Roosevelt was complaining of severe pain at the back of his head, and collapsed forward his chair, unconscious and was carried to his bedroom. His doctor and attending cardiologist, Dr. Howard Bruenn, diagnosed Roosevelt a severe cerebral hemorrhage or stroke, and he later died at 3:35 p.m. on that same day. His favorite pet Fala, a Scottish Terrier, Roosevelt constant companion during his term in the White House and the most photographed dog in the world. He had other pets, Majora the German Shepherd, Meggie the Scottish Terrier, Winks the Llewellyn Setter, Tiny the Old English Sheepdog, Persident the Great Dane, and Blaze the Bullmastiff.  
Harry S. Truman 33rd U.S. President

Harry S. Truman 33rd President of the United States

Harry S. Truman 33rd President of the United States

Official White House portrait of Harry S. Truman

Official White House portrait of Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman born on May 8, 1884, and served as the 33rd U.S. President (1945 to 1953), and he was 34th Vice President of the United States (1945) under the term of President Franklin Roosevelt, and succeeded as President on April 12, 1945 after Roosevelt sudden death less than three months after beginning his unprecedented 4th term. Strange fact about Truman, he was the only president who served after 1897 without a college degree, it was his childhood dream to be at the West Point, but his poor eyesight failed his dream. On December 5, 1972, he was admitted with lung congestion from pneumonia complications, to Kansas City’s Research Hospital and Medical Center. He developed multiple organ failure and died at 7:50 am on December 26, 1972 at the age of 88. His wife died nearly ten years later, on October 18, 1982.  His pets are Cocker Spaniel named Feller and Mike, an Irish Setter.
Dwight DavidIkeEisenhower 34th U.S. President

Dwight D. Eisenhower 34th President

Dwight D. Eisenhower 34th President

Official White House portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Official White House portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight DavidIkeEisenhower born on October 14, 1890, and served as the 34th U.S. President from 1953 until 1961 – March 28, 1969) Strange facts about Eisenhower, he was a chain smoker until March 1949, and probably the first president to release information about his health and medical records while in office. On September 24, 1955, while on vacation in Colorado, he suffered a serious heart attack that required six weeks’ hospitalization, during which time Nixon, Dulles and Sherman Adams assumed administrative duties and provided communication with the President. Eisenhower developed a left ventricular aneurysm, which was in turn the cause of a mild stroke on November 25, 1957, which occurred during a cabinet meeting when Eisenhower suddenly found himself unable to speak or move his right hand. The president also suffered from Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory condition of the intestine, which necessitated surgery for a bowel obstruction on June 9, 1956. Eisenhower’s gave up his smoking habits regarding his health issues, and make some changes to his dietary habits, but he still indulged in alcohol.  Eisenhower “drank several gin tonic, one or two gins on the rocks, three to four wines with dinner. Cholecystitis symptoms began to show in August 1966, for which he underwent surgery on December 12, 1966 when his gallbladder was removed, containing 16 gallstones. In 1969, after Eisenhower’s death, an autopsy unexpectedly revealed an adrenal Pheochromocytoma, a benign adrenaline-secreting tumor that may have made the President more vulnerable to heart disease.  In the 1960 election to choose his successor, Eisenhower endorsed his own Vice-President, Republican Richard Nixon against Democrat John F. Kennedy. Eisenhower told friends, “I will do almost anything to avoid turning my chair and country over to Kennedy.” But he was succeeded by the youngest elect John F. Kennedy who was 43 years old at that time, while  Eisenhower, who at that time was 70 years old, was the oldest president in history. Eisenhower was the first president to appear on colored television.

John FitzgeraldJackKennedy 35th President of the United States

John F. Kennedy 35th President

John F. Kennedy 35th President

The official White House portrait of John F. Kennedy by Aaron Shikler

The official White House portrait of John F. Kennedy by Aaron Shikler

The Kennedy family in Hyannis Port in 1963 with pets

The Kennedy family in Hyannis Port in 1963 with pets

John FitzgeraldJackKennedy often referred to his initials as JFK, was born on May 29, 1917, and served as the 35th U.S. President serving from 1961 until his death from assassination in November 22, 1963, in Dallas Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald was charged with the crime, but was shot and killed two days later by Jack Ruby before the trial took place. The Warren Commission and the FBI concluded officially that Oswald was the lone assassin. Kennedy is the only Catholic President, and is the only president to have won a Pulitzer Prize. The HSCA or The House Select Committee on Assassinations, concluded that Kennedy was assassinated as the result of conspiracy and those investigations were not perfectly done. Today, Kennedy continues to rank highly in Public Opinion ratings of U.S. Presidents and the most loved president. Strange facts about John F. Kennedy, he usually read 6 newspapers on his breakfast. John F. Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald, and Jack Ruby all died in the same hospital. In September 1947, John F. Kennedy was 30 years old at that time, was diagnosed with Addison’s disease (a rare endocrine disorder). Then in 1966, his White House doctor,Janet Travell , revealed that Kennedy also had hypothyroidism, and the presence of two endocrine diseases raises the possibility that Kennedy had autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 2 (APS2). Kennedys also experienced many personal tragedies. Jacqueline had a miscarriage in 1955 and a stillbirth in 1956, their newborn son, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, died in August 1963. Kennedy had two children who survived infancy. One of the fundamental aspects of the Kennedy family is a tragic strain which has run through the family, as a result of the violent and untimely deaths of many of its members. Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., JFK’s eldest brother died in World War II at the age of 29. It was Joe Jr. who was originally to carry the family’s hopes for the Presidency. Then both John himself, and his brother Robert died as a result of assassinations. Edward had brushes with death, the first in a plane crash and the second as a result of a car accident, known as the Chappaquiddick incident. Edward died at age 77, on August 25, 2009, from the effects of a malignant brain tumorJohn F. Kennedy, Jr, son of JFK, born in 1960, just few weeks after hi father was elected, died in 1999, when the small plane he piloted crashed near the Martha’s Vineyard, killing him, his wife Carolyn Bessette and his sister-in-law.   Their official pets at the White House were, Gaullie a Poodle,  Welsh Terrier named Charlie, Tom Kitten, Robin the canary, parakeets named Bluebell and Marybelle, Macaroni the pony, ponies Tax and Leprechaun, hamsters named Debbie and Billie, Russian mutt named Pushinka and Soviet space dog named Strelka, dogs and rabbits.

Lyndon Baines Johnson 36th President of the United States

Lyndon B. Johnson 36th President

Lyndon B. Johnson 36th President

Official White House portrait of Lyndon B. Johnson

Official White House portrait of Lyndon B. Johnson

Johnson during an interview in August 1972, sporting longer hair

Johnson during an interview in August 1972, sporting longer hair

Lyndon Baines Johnson born on August 27, 1908, often referred to his initials as LBJ, served as the 36th U.S. President from 1961 to 1963, a position he assumed after his 37th Vice President of the United States.   – January 22, 1973). He is one of only four people, who served in all four elected federal offices of the United States. Johnson succeeded  to the presidency following the John F. Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963, completed Kennedy’s term and was elected President in his own right, in the 1964 election winning by a large margin. Lyndon Baines Johnson died on January 22, 1973 at his ranch at 3:39 p.m at age 64 after suffering a massive heart attack. His death came two days after Nixon’s second inauguration, the last day of his presidency if he had been re-elected in 1968. His death came the day before a ceasefire was signed in Vietnam and just a month after former president Harry S. Truman died. (Truman’s funeral on December 28, 1972 had been one of Johnson’s last public appearances). His health had been affected by years of heavy smoking , poor diet, and extreme stress, and the former president was diagnosed with advance coronary artery disease. He had his first, nearly fatal, heart attack in July 1955 and suffered a second one in April 1972, but had been unable to quit smoking after he left the Oval Office in 1969. He was found dead by Secret Service agents, in his bed, with a telephone receiver in his hand. The agents were responding to a desperate call Johnson had made to the Secret Service compound on his ranch minutes earlier complaining of “massive chest pains”.   LBJ’s pets were Beagles (Him and Her, Edgar and Freckles), white collie (Blanco), mongre (Yuki), Hamsters and lovebirds.

Richard Milhous Nixon 37th U.S. President

Richard Nixon 37th President

Richard Nixon 37th President

4 US Presidents, Reagan with Ford Carter and Nixon during funeral of Egyptian Pres Anwar Sadat

4 US Presidents, Reagan with Ford Carter and Nixon during funeral of Egyptian Pres Anwar Sadat

Five US presidents and their first ladies attend the funeral of Richard Nixon, April 27, 1994.

Five US presidents and their first ladies attend the funeral of Richard Nixon, April 27, 1994.

, Pasha and King Timahoe looking out the window in the White House Nixons pets

Vicki, Pasha and King Timahoe looking out the window in the White House Nixons pets

Richard Milhous Nixon born on January 9, 1913, served as the 37th U.S. President, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign from office . He suffered a debilitating stroke on April 18, 1994, and died four days later on April 22, 1994, at the age of 81. Nixon remains a source of considerable interest among historians and the public. In October 1974, Nixon fell ill with phlebitis. Told by his doctors that he could either be operated on or die, a reluctant Nixon chose surgery, and President Ford visited him in the hospital. Nixon was under subpoena for the trial of three of his former aides—Dean, Haldeman, and John Ehrlichman, and The Washington Post, did not believed Nixon’s illness, and produced a cartoon illustration,  showing Nixon with a cast on the wrong foot. In April 18, 1994, Nixon suffered a severe stroke, while preparing to eat dinner in his New Jersey Park Ridge home. A blood clot resulting from his heart condition had formed in his upper heart, broken off, and traveled to his brain, and was rushed to New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan, initially alert but unable to speak or to move his right arm or leg, damaging his brain, and caused cerebral edema or swelling of the brain, and Nixon slipped into a deep coma. He died at 9:08 p.m. on April 22, 1994, with his daughters at his bedside. He was 81 years old.
Gerald RudolphJerryFord, Jr.  38th U.S. President 

Gerald Ford 38th President

Gerald Ford 38th President

Ford and his golden retriever, Liberty, in the Oval Office, 1974

Ford and his golden retriever, Liberty, in the Oval Office, 1974

Gerald RudolphJerryFord, Jr. born Leslie Lynch King, Jr., born on July 14, 1913, and served as the 38th U.S. President serving from 1974 to 1977, and he was the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974.  – December 26, 2006) assumed in office as the President after Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974. He was the first person appointed to the vice-presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment after the resignation of  Spiro Agnew, he became the only President of the United States who was never elected President nor Vice-President by the Electoral College.  Following his years as president, Ford remained active in the Republican Party. Ford died in his home on December 26, 2006 after suffering form various health problems. Among other any U.S. Preisdents, Ford lived longer, living 93 years and 165 days, while his 895 days as president remains the shortest terms of all Presidents who did not die in office.  Strange facts happened in his life, when  Ford faced two assassination attempts during his presidency, which happened within three weeks of each other and happened in the same state. while in Sacramento, California, on September 5, 1975. Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, a follower of cult leader and serial killer Charles Manson, pointed a Colt.45-caliber handgun at Ford, the gun was grabbed by a Secret Service agent, and managed to insert the webbing of his thumb under the hammer, preventing the gun from firing, however, it they found out that, even though the semi-automatic gun had four cartridges in the magazine, the weapon had not been chambered, making it impossible for the gun to fire. Fromme was taken into custody and was convicted of attempted assassination of the President and was sentenced to life in prison, and was paroled on August 14, 2009.  After seventeen days,  as Ford left the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, another assassination attempt by Sara Jane Moore, standing in a crowd of onlookers across the street, pointed her .38 caliber revolver at the president. Former Marine Oliver Sipple, grabbed the gun, before Moore could fire it, deflected her shot that hit a wall about six inches above the right of Ford’s head, then ricocheted hitting a taxi driver, who was slightly wounded. Moore was later sentenced to life in prison, but was paroled on December 31, 2007, after serving 32 years in prison.He was the 3rd longest lived Vice President, falling short only of John Nance Garner, 98, and Levi P. Morton, 96. Ford had the third-longest post-presidency (29 years and 11 months) after Herbert Hoover (31 years and 7 months) and Jimmy Carter (31 years, 7 months and counting).

James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, Jr. 39th U.S. President

Jimmy Carter 39th President

Jimmy Carter 39th President

Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter

James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, Jr. born October 1, 1924, served as the 39th President of the United States (1977 to 1981) and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office. Strange facts about Jimmy Carter, he was the first President born in a hospital  at the Wise Sanitarium.  For a year, due to a limited real estate market, the Carters lived in a public housing (Carter is the only U.S. president to have lived in housing subsidized for the poor. Jimmy Carter is one of only four presidents, and the only one in modern history, who did not have an opportunity to nominate a justice to serve on the Supreme Court. The other three are William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor and Andrew Johnson. Of these four, Carter is the only to have served a full term.

The rabbit swimming away from the President

The rabbit swimming away from the President

On April 20, 1979, Jimmy Carter went to Plains Georgia, his hometown,  on a solo fishing expedition. After the fishing, the former president narrated that “a rabbit chased by hounds jumped in the water and swam toward my boat. When he got almost there, I splashed some water with a paddle”, upon returning to his office, but  Carter’s staff did not believed the President’s story,  insisting that rabbits couldn’t swim, or that they would never approach a person threateningly. But the incident was captured on footage taken by the official photographer of the White House.

Ronald Wilson Reagan 40th President of the United States

Ronald Reagan 40th President

Ronald Reagan 40th President

Rex , the First dog, with the Reagans at Christmas

Rex , the First dog, with the Reagans at Christmas

Ronald Wilson Reagan born on February 6, 1911, and served as the 40th President of the United States serving his term from 1981 to 1989, and was the 33rd Governor of California  ( 1967 to 1975),  radio personality and television and film actor.  – June 5, 2004).  On his 69th day in office as the new president, an assassination attempt on March 30, 1981, outside the Washington Hilton Hotel from his would be assassin, John Hinckley, Jr. and the first U.S. President to survived from a gunshot in an assassination attempt. Reagan, James Brady his press secretary, Thomas Delahanty Washington police officer, and Timothy McCarthy his Secret Service agent were struck by gunfire. During surgery, Reagan was “close to death” but recovered and was released from the hospital on April 11. Strange fact about Reagan, early in his presidency he started wearing hearing aid, first in his right ear,  and later in his left as well. In 1983, Reagan decided to go in public regarding his wearing the small, audio-amplifying device boosted their sales. Reagan underwent surgery at Bethesda Naval Hospital on July 13, 1985, for the removal of malignant colon polyps. That same year in August, he underwent another surgery to remove skin cancer cells from his nose, then on October, another skin cancer cells were detected on his nose and removed. In January 1987, Reagan underwent surgery for an enlarged prostate which caused further worries about his health. No cancerous growths were found. In July of that year, aged 76, he underwent a 3rd skin cancer operation on his nose.    In August 1994, at the age of 83, Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, an incurable neurological disorder which destroys brain cells and ultimately causes death, he died of pneumonia, brought on by Alzheimer’s disease at his home in Bel Air, California, on the afternoon of June 5, 2004. Nancy Reagan released a statement after Reagan’s death,  saying, “My family and I would like the world to know that President Ronald Reagan has died after 10 years of Alzheimer’s disease at 93 years of age. During Ronald Reagan’s presidency, the White House actually suffered an atomic pollution in the air ventilation system and signs of Radioactivityis still found there.

George Herbert Walker Bush 41st U.S. President

George H. W. Bush 41st President

George H. W. Bush 41st President

Official portrait of George H. W. Bush.

Official portrait of George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush born June 12, 1924  is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States  (1989–93). And he served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States (1981–89), an ambassador, congressman, a Director of Central Intelligence, and the oldest surviving president today. His son, George W. Bush became the 43rd President of the United States, and his other son Jeb W. Bush is a former Governor of Florida. He is a World War II veteran. Since his son George W. Bush to the presidency in 2000, Bush was commonly referred to simply as “George Bush“, since that time, he was called in many forms, such as; Bush 41, Bush the Elder, George Bush, Sr but the most common is George H.W. Bush to distinguish from “father and son”. Strange facts about George Bush was that  on July 13, 1985, (President Reagan underwent a colon polyps removal surgery), Bush became the first Vice President to become Acting President, approximately eight hours as president. George  Bush has developed Parkinson’s disease, a neurological disorder which has weakened his legs. In April 2011, he said he was not suffering pain from the disorder.      George Bush survived 4 plane crashes in the world war II.

Millie, first dog pet of George HW Bush

Millie, first dog pet of George HW Bush

Mildred “Millie” Kerr Bush an English Springer Spaniel breed, was born January 12, 1985, pet of Barbara and George W.H. Bush. The dog was named after Mildred Caldwell Kerr, a long-time friend of the Bushes, which is also the name of Kerr’s granddaughter, Millie Kerr. Millie died of pneumonia on May 19, 1997  at age 12.

William JeffersonBillClinton 42nd President of the United States

Bill Clinton 42nd President

Bill Clinton 42nd President

Clinton family in White House

Clinton family in White House

William JeffersonBillClinton born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) is an American politician,  who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third youngest president and took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation (born between the years 1946 and 1964). Strange facts about Clinton; he worked with future two-term Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, future Texas Governor Ann Richards, and future filmmaker Steven Spielberg who at that time was unpopular television director.  The Secret Service Secret Service has code names for every President, Vice President, and family members. Ronald Reagan was Rawhide, George H.W. Bush was Timberwolf, Bill Clinton was Eagle, George W. Bush was Trailblazer, and Barack Obama is Renegade. Karenna, daughter of Al Gore that she regretted picking code name Smurfette,  she complained that she was put on the spot and asked to choose her own code name.  Clinton received a quadruple bypass surgery in September 2004, then another surgery for his partially collapsed lung  in March 2005, and   on February 11, 2010, he had two coronary stents implanted in his heart after complaining of chest pains. Clinton become a vegetarian due to health reasons, but still eats fish sometimes.

5 year old Socks The Cat peers over the White House Briefing Room's presidential lectern in 1994.

5 year old Socks The Cat peers over the White House Briefing Room’s presidential lectern in 1994.

Socks Clinton-Currie (March 23, 1989 – February 20, 2009) was the pet cat of the Clinton’s in the White House. An adopted stray cat, Socks was euthanized on February 20, 2009, in Hollywood, Maryland  after suffering cancer of the jaw.

Buddy, Clinton's dog

Buddy, Clinton’s dog

Buddy a male Labrador Retriever, chocolate colored, born on September 1997 owned by Bill Clinton. Buddy died on January 2, 2002, killed by a car while chasing a contractor in a playful mood. The Clinton’s are out of town when the accident occurred. Then Clinton acquired another chocolate colored Labrador and named him Seamus.

George Walker Bush 43rd U.S. President

George W. Bush 43rd President

George W. Bush 43rd President

George Walker Bush born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd President of the United States  from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Texas Governor from 1995 to 2000. The eldest son of George H.W. and Barbara Bush. Strange facts in George Walker Bush president’s life, was his major turning point during the September 11 Terrorist Attach.  Then on May 10, 2005, a native Georgian( born to an Armenian ethnic family), Vladimir Arutyunian, threw a live hand grenade toward a podium at the Freedom Square in Tblisi, Georgia, where Bush was speaking, but landed in a crowd after hitting a girl, but luckily did not detonate. Arutyunian was arrested and was convicted for a life sentence in January 2006. During his visit in Baghdad, Iraq, an  Iraqi journalist, Muntazer al-Zaidi , also a reporter for local television  Al-Baghdadia for an Egyptian Newspaper threw his shoes  at the United States President, George W. Bush, during a press conference, al-Zaidi was tackled by authorities. Bush had made a surprise last visit to Iraq to sign a new security pact brokered by Iraq and the U.S.  Before throwing his shoes at Bush, the reporter, stood up and said, “This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, dog!” The words were followed by the reporter’s two shoes being thrown at Bush, who had to duck in order to avoid being hit with them. Shortly after each shoe flew within a few inches of Bush, authorities quickly neutralized the reporter and took him out of the room.   On May 2, 2011, President Obama called Bush, who was at a restaurant with his wife, informing him that Osama bin Laden had been killed.

Bush 'duck', Zaidi's shoe flying over George Bush's head.

Bush ‘duck’, Zaidi’s shoe flying over George Bush’s head.

Would you believe this strange facts, that a wealthy businessman from Saudi Arabia offered US$ 10 million offered to buy the shoes thrown by al-Zaidi. There were also suggestions and calls throughout the Middle East to display the shoes in an Iraqi Museum. The exact manufacturer of the shoes has not been confirmed, but they are believed to be made by a Turkish shoemaker. The Ducati Model 271 shoes was  first renamed “The Bush Shoe” and later “The Bye-Bye Bush Shoe

Barney Presidential dog oval office

Barney Presidential dog oval office

India "Willie" Bush

India “Willie” Bush

India “Willie” Bush ,was a black cat owned by former U.S. President George W. Bush and Laura Bush, living with the Bush’ family for almost two decades. India died at the White House on January 4, 2009, at the age of 18.

Barack Hussein Obama II 44th President of the United States

Official portrait of Barack Obama

Official portrait of Barack Obama

Obama family portrait in the Green Room

Obama family portrait in the Green Room

Barack Obama playing basketball with members of Congress and Cabinet secretaries_2

Barack Obama playing basketball with members of Congress and Cabinet secretaries_2

The Obama family and Bo, their Portuguese Water Dog, walk on the South Lawn of the White House

The Obama family and Bo, their Portuguese Water Dog, walk on the South Lawn of the White House

Obama with his half-sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, mother Ann Dunham and grandfather Stanley Dunham, in Honolulu Hawaii

Obama with his half-sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, mother Ann Dunham and grandfather Stanley Dunham, in Honolulu Hawaii

Barack Hussein Obama II born August 4, 1961, is the current and the 44th President of the United States, and the first African-American to hold office as the president. American. In May 2012, he became the first U.S. president to publicly support and legalizing the same-sex marriage, and the first President to be born in Hawaii. In an interview in 2006, Obama highlighted the difference of his extended family quoting,  “It’s like a little mini-United Nations”, he said. “I’ve got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, or look like Margaret Thatcher. Maya Soettoro-Ng, Obama’s has a half-sister with whom he was raised , the daughter of his mother and her Indonesian second husband, and seven half-siblings from his Kenyan father, Barack Obama, Sr. (a Lou ethnic tribe from Kenya),  six of them living. Obama’s parents met in a Russian class in 1960s, at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where Obama, Sr. was a foreign scholar student. Then they (Obama Sr. and his mother Stanley Ann Durham) got married on February 2, 1961 in Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii. Obama’s mother Ann Durham, was born in Wichita, Kansas from an English, Scottish, Irish, German and Swiss ancestry.   The Obama’s owned a Portuguese Water Dog they named Bo, a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy .  Obama tried to quit smoking several times, sometimes using nicotine replacement therapy, and, in early 2010, Michelle Obama said that he had successfully quit smoking.

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