10 Facts about US Presidents

Who was the first President born "American"?

• George Washington

• Thomas Jefferson

• Barrack Obama

• Martin Van Buren

Answer explanation

Martin Van Buren (1782-1862), 8th President.Van Buren was the first president to have been born after the American Revolution, in Kinderhook, New York on December 5, 1782, technically making him the first American-born president. The seven before him were all born in the American colonies.

Which President made Christmas a national holiday?

• Ullysses S. Grant

• Donald Trump

• Ronald Reagan

• John F. Kennedy

Answer explanation

Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), 18th President. On June 28, 1870, Grant signed legislation making Christmas a federal holiday, as well as New Year’s Day, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving Day. Grant hoped Christmas and the other holidays would help bond people in the North and South through shared celebrations.

One president was a trained pianist and played 4 other instruments.

• Barrack Obama

• Richard Nixon

• John F. Kennedy

• James Madison

Answer explanation

Richard Nixon (1913-1994), 37th President. Nixon’s mother encouraged him to play piano at an early age. He went on to learn violin, clarinet, saxophone, and accordion. In 1963, his musical talent became useful when he performed a song he wrote on “The Jack Paar Program,” which helped to repair his image after losing the California gubernatorial election the year prior.

Which President attended the coronation of Napoleon at Notre Dame's Cathedral in Paris?

• John Adams

• James Monroe

• George Washington

• John F. Kennedy

Answer explanation

James Monroe (1758-1831), 5th President.In 1804, Monroe and his wife, Elizabeth, attended Napoleon’s coronation while he was serving as the American ambassador to Britain and France.

Which president rejected a career in American Football?

• Barrack Obama

• Donald Trump

• Gerald Ford

• John F. Kennedy

Answer explanation

Gerald Ford (1913-2006), 38th President. Ford attended the University of Michigan, where he was a star football player. The team won national titles in both 1932 and 1933. After graduation, he turned down offers to play with both the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers. He accepted a coaching job at Yale University in 1935 because he also wanted to attend law school.

Which president was often ridiculed in the press for his unkempt appearance?

• Donald Trump

• George Washington

• Joe Biden

• Abraham Lincoln

Answer explanation

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), 16th President. Before being known as the Great Emancipator, Lincoln was known for his disheveled appearance. Newspapers often ridiculed him for it; some called him “hatchet-faced”. One newspaper referred to his “thatch of wild republican hair” with his “irregular flocks of thick hair carelessly brushed” across his face.

Which President of these Four was born on July 4th (Independence Day)? You won't believe it but the other three died on that day!

• John Adams

• Thomas Jefferson

• James Monroe

• Calvin Coolidge

Answer explanation

Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933), 30th President.Coolidge was born on July 4, 1872 in Plymouth Notch, Vermont and is the only president to be born on Independence Day.

Which President hated his painted portrait so much that he burned it?

• John F Kennedy

• Theodore Roosevelt

• Donald Trump

• George W. Bush

Answer explanation

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), 26th President.

For his official White House portrait, he chose the famed French portraiture artist Theobald Chartran. “It was difficult to get the president to sit still.” The painting was unveiled and displayed in France in 1903. Roosevelt, hated the painting, and after hiding it in a dark hall of the White House for years, he eventually burned it.

Which President donated all of his presidential salary (and his congressional salary before that) to charity?

• John F. Kennedy

• George Washington

• Abraham Lincoln

• Andrew Jackson

Answer explanation

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), 35th President. Born into wealth and prestige, JFK was one of the richest men to take office. He lived off the Kennedy family’s considerable trusts, so he donated his congressional salary and later his presidential salary to charities like the United Negro College Fund and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America.

For which President was English their second language and not their first? The rest were fluent in Spanish!

• George W. Bush

• Franklin Roosevelt

• Martin Van Buren

• Thomas Jefferson

Answer explanation

Even though he was born in the U.S., he learned to speak Dutch before learning to speak English. He is the only U.S. president for whom English was a second language. Martin Van Buren was born in 1782. He spoke Dutch at home with his parents, then learned to speak English in school.