Gallery of American Presidents 5 страница

In addition to being some of the greatest men in American history, the American presidents were also men -- with all of the quirks and foibles that entails. Between the indiscretions of George Washington and the indiscretions of William Jefferson Clinton fall these interesting, unusual, and sometimes embarrassing facts:

In addition to his many other eccentricities, Thomas Jefferson had some unusual pets. Merriwether Lewis and William Clark sent back from the Louisiana purchase some grizzly cubs, and Jefferson was often seen walking them around the grounds of the White House. (Although Herbert Hoover might have bested this: his son had two pet alligators.)

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William Howard Taft, our 27th President, was known as "Big Bill," and for a good reason. He was 6' 2" tall and weighed over 330 pounds. He was so large, in fact, that he once got stuck in the White House bath tub, which had to be replaced with a special oversized version.

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John Tyler, who became president after the death of Harrison, later joined the confederacy and was elected to their house of representatives.

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Warren G. Harding -- considered by many to be one of the worst presidents ever -- was also an avid gambler. He once bet all the White House china on a hand of cards -- and lost. He also gave his dog, Laddie Boy, its own seat at the cabinet table. Somewhat ironically, perhaps, he coined the term "normalcy."

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Ulysses S. Grant was the first president to run against a woman -- the 1872 nominee of the Equal Rights Party, Victoria Woodhull, a spiritualist, activist, and former prostitute known as "the high priestess of free love."

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In addition to being the first president to be assassinated, Abraham Lincoln had the unusual distinction of being the first president to endure an attempted grave robbing. In 1876, thieves tried to steal his body from its tomb, in the hopes of holding it for ransom. However, they failed to get him out of his casket. Lincoln was also no fan of women, and the subject of his sexuality is often in dispute. Sufficed to say, his relationship with his wife, Mary Todd, was anything but serene. By all accounts, she was controlling, cruel, and a bit of a shopoholic. Many have speculated that she was manic depressive, or even psychopathic. Lincoln himself once said, "A woman is the only thing I am afraid of that I know can't hurt me."

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Chester A. Arthur, who became president after the assassination of James Garfield, suffered from Bright's disease -- what modern medicine calls nephritis -- but kept it a secret, and even attempted to gain the nomination for a second term (he died less than two years after leaving office). And he was not the only president to conceal an illness.

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In addition to FDR's well-known secret paralysis, JFK suffered from Addision's disease, a rare endocrine disorder, and has been called by some historians "likely the sickest man ever to hold office."

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Benjamin Harrison, who served as president from 1889-1893, was frightened of the newfangled electricity in the White House. He and his family were afraid to touch the switches for the electric lights, and often had White House staff do it for them.

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And lastly, some presidential firsts: Abraham Lincoln was the first to receive a patent (for a floating drydock);
Millard Fillmore was the first president to have a stepmother;
James K. Polk was the first president to have his swearing-in reported by telegraph;
Hoover was the first to have a telephone on his desk (as well as the first millionaire);
FDR was the first to appear on television,
Truman was the first to ride in a submarine;

FIRST LADIES

Washington, Martha (1731-1802) Wife of George Washington

Harrison, Caroline (1832-1892) Wife of Benjamin Harrison

Adams, Abigail (1744-1818) Wife of John Adams

McKinley, Ida (1832-1892) Wife of William McKinley

Jefferson, Martha (1748-1782) Wife of Thomas Jefferson

Roosevelt, Edith (1861-1948) Wife of Theodore Roosevelt

Madison, Dolley (1768-1849) Wife of James Madison

Taft, Helen (1861-1943) Wife of William Howard Taft

Monroe, Elizabeth (1768-1830) Wife of James Monroe

Wilson, Ellen (1860-1914) Wife of Woodrow Wilson

Adams, Louisa (1775-1852) Wife of John Q. Adams

Wilson, Edith (1872-1961) 2nd wife of Woodrow Wilson

Jackson, Rachel (1767-1828) Wife of Andrew Jackson

Harding, Florence (1860-1924) Wife of Warren Harding

Van Buren, Hannah (1783-1819) Wife of Martin Van Buren

Coolidge, Grace (Anna) (1879-1957) Wife of Calvin Coolidge

Harrison, Anna (1775-1864) Wife of William Henry Harrison

Hoover, Lou (1874-1944) Wife of Herbert Hoover

Tyler, Letitia (1790-1842) Wife of John Tyler

Roosevelt, (Anna) Eleanor (1884-1962) Wife of Franklin D Roosevelt

Tyler, Julia (1820-1889) 2nd wife of John Tyler

Truman, Bess (1885-1982) Wife of Harry Truman

Polk, Sarah (1803-1891) Wife of James Polk

Eisenhower, Mamie (1896-1979) Wife of Dwight Eisenhower

Taylor, Margaret (1788-1852) Wife of Zachary Taylor

Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy (1929-1994) Wife of John F Kennedy

Fillmore, Abigail (1798-1853) Wife of Millard Fillmore

Johnson, Lady Bird (1912-2007) Wife of Lyndon Baines Johnson

Pierce, Jane (1806-1863) Wife of Franklin Pierce

Nixon, Pat (1912-1993) Wife of Richard Nixon

Lane, Harriet (1830-1903) Niece of James Buchanan

Ford, Betty (1918-) Wife of Gerald Ford

Lincoln, Mary (1818-1882) Wife of Abraham Lincoln

Carter, Rosalynn (1927-) Wife of Jimmy Carter

Johnson, Eliza (1810-1876) Wife of Andrew Johnson

Reagan, Nancy (1921-) Wife of Ronald Reagan

Grant, Julia (1826-1902) Wife of Ulysses Grant

Bush, Barbara (1925-) Wife of George H W Bush

Hayes, Lucy (1831-1889) Wife of Rutherford Hayes

Clinton, Hillary (Rodham) (1947-) Wife of Bill Clinton

Garfield, Lucretia (1832-1918) Wife of James Garfield

Bush, Laura Welch (1946-) Wife of George W Bush

Arthur, Ellen (1837-1880) Wife of Chester Arthur

Obama, Michelle (1964-) Wife of Barack Obama

Cleveland, Frances (1837-1880) Wife of Grover Cleveland

Дата добавления: 2015-07-19