President's Day

did you know....

George Washington
> loved cream of peanut soup
>was the only president who did not belong to a political party
>things named after him: 1 state, 7 mountains, 8 streams, 10 lakes, 33 counties, 9 colleges, and 121 towns and villages

James Madison
>was the smallest of all the presidents. He was only 5'4" tall and weighed less than 100 pounds
>was the first president to wear long trousers. All the previous presidents wore knee breeches

John Quincy Adams
>customarily took a nude early morning swim in the Potomac River
>was the first president to have his photo taken (April 13, 1843)

Martin Van Buren
>when he was vice president, he presided over the Senate wearing a pair of pistols, as a precaution against the frequent outbursts of violence!
>was the first president who was born a U.S. citizen

James Buchanan
>the only bachelor president, almost married in 1819
>liked to give sauerkraut and mashed potato parties

Abraham Lincoln
>grew a beard because a little girl wrote him a letter telling him that he would look more handsome with a beard
>was the first U.S. President to receive a patent
>used to store notes, bills, and letters in his famous top hat

Ulysses S. Grant
>set a high jump record at West Point that lasted for more than 25 years
>his favorite breakfast was a cucumber soaked in vinegar
>while president, Grant was arrested for speeding in his horse carriage!

Herbert Clark Hoover
>was the first president to have a telephone right on his desk
>required White House servants to be "invisible." Whenever he or the first lady appeared, the servants would jump into the nearest closet to avoid being seen
>his son had 2 pet alligators that would sometimes wander around the White House

John Fitzgerald Kennedy
>the youngest man, the first Roman Catholic to be elected president, the first to win a Purple Heart, the 4th president to be assassinated, and the first Pulitzer Prize winner
>was the first President to not wear a hat at his inauguration

Lyndon Baines Johnson
>was the only president who was sworn in by a woman
>was the first president to name a black person to his Cabinet

Gerald R. Ford
>was named Leslie Lynch King, Jr. at birth. When his divorced mother remarried, he was adopted by his stepfather and named Gerald R. Ford after him. He was known as "Jerry"
>once worked as a fashion model

Ronald Wilson Reagan
>at 73, he was the oldest person ever elected president
>became the first U.S. president to address Japan's legislature

George Herbert Walker Bush
>requested Nixon's resignation as president in the name of the Republican Party
>resigned from the CIA after Jimmy Carter was elected president in 1976

William Jefferson Clinton
>began using his stepfather's last name while in grade school and formally changed his name to William Jefferson Clinton when he was 15
>met JFK when he was 17
>wife, Hillary, was the first wife of a president to attain elective office herself

George W. Bush
>was the second president to follow in his father's footsteps. The other presidents were John Adams and John Quincy Adams
>married wife, Laura, three months after meeting