The office of the President is established by Article II of the U.S. Constitution. Forty-three men (no women yet) have held the position in administrations numbered one through 44, since Grover Cleveland is counted twice for his discontinuous period in the White House. Many attempts have been made to rate the greatest presidents, with rankings often reflecting the views of the rankers. Some have used horoscopes, although the power of astrology seems best in retrospect. It`s clear that the great presidents had visions as well as a love of country, but in order to become president the greatest asset was for many years residence, first in Virginia and later in Ohio.
There have been two father/son pairs (John Adams/John Quincy Adams and George H.W. Bush/George W. Bush) and two more with the same family name but more distant relations. Many vice-presidents have gone on to become president, but until now, no former first-lady has done so.
|
|
Presidential
Term |
President
|
Age
* |
Life
Span |
Party
|
Vice-President
|
|
1
|
1789-1797
|
George Washington |
57
|
1732
1799 |
John Adams | |
|
2
|
1797-1801
|
John Adams |
61
|
1735
1826 |
Federalist
|
Thomas Jefferson |
|
3
|
1801-1809
|
Thomas Jefferson |
57
|
1743
1826 |
Aaron Burr George Clinton |
|
|
4
|
1809-1817
|
James Madison |
57
|
1758
1831 |
Democratic-
Republican |
George Clinton Elbridge Gerry |
|
5
|
1817-1825
|
James Monroe |
58
|
1751
1836 |
Democratic-
Republican |
Daniel Tompkins |
|
6
|
1825-1829
|
John Quincy Adams |
57
|
1767
1848 |
Democratic-
Republican |
John C. Calhoun |
|
7
|
1829-1837
|
Andrew Jackson |
61
|
1767
1845 |
Democrat
|
John C. Calhoun Martin Van Buren |
|
8
|
1837-1841
|
Martin Van Buren |
54
|
1782
1862 |
Democrat
|
Richard Johnson |
|
9
|
1841
|
William H. Harrison |
68
|
1773
1841 |
John Tyler | |
|
10
|
1841-1845
|
John Tyler |
51
|
1790
1862 |
||
|
11
|
1845-1849
|
James K. Polk |
49
|
1795
1849 |
Democrat
|
George Dallas |
|
12
|
1849-1850
|
Zachary Taylor |
64
|
1784
1850 |
Whig
|
Millard Fillmore |
|
13
|
1850-1853
|
Millard Fillmore |
50
|
1800
1874 |
||
|
14
|
1853-1857
|
Franklin Pierce |
48
|
1804
1869 |
Democrat
|
William King |
|
15
|
1857-1861
|
James Buchanan |
65
|
1791
1868 |
Democrat
|
John Breckinridge |
|
16
|
1861-1865
|
Abraham Lincoln |
52
|
1809
1865 |
Republican
|
Hannibal Hamlin Andrew Johnson |
|
17
|
1865-1869
|
Andrew Johnson |
56
|
1808
1875 |
Democrat
|
|
|
18
|
1869-1877
|
Ulysses S. Grant |
46
|
1822
1885 |
Republican
|
Schuyler Colfax |
|
19
|
1877-1881
|
Rutherford Hayes |
54
|
1822
1893 |
Republican
|
William Wheeler |
|
20
|
1881
|
James A. Garfield |
49
|
1831
1881 |
Republican
|
Chester Arthur |
|
21
|
1881-1885
|
Chester Arthur |
50
|
1830
1886 |
||
|
22
|
1885-1889
|
Grover Cleveland |
47
|
1837
1908 |
Democrat
|
Thomas Hendricks |
|
23
|
1889-1893
|
Benjamin Harrison |
55
|
1833
1901 |
Republican
|
Levi Morton |
|
24
|
1893-1897
|
Grover Cleveland |
55
|
1837
1908 |
Democrat
|
Adlai Stevenson |
|
25
|
1897-1901
|
William McKinley |
54
|
1843
1901 |
Republican
|
Garret Hobart Theodore Roosevelt |
|
26
|
1901-1909
|
Theodore Roosevelt |
42
|
1858
1919 |
Republican
|
Charles Fairbanks |
|
27
|
1909-1913
|
William H. Taft |
51
|
1857
1930 |
Republican
|
James Sherman |
|
28
|
1913-1921
|
Woodrow Wilson |
56
|
1856
1924 |
Democrat
|
Thomas Marshall |
|
29
|
1921-1923
|
Warren G. Harding |
55
|
1865
1923 |
Republican
|
Calvin Coolidge |
|
30
|
1923-1929
|
Calvin Coolidge |
51
|
1872
1933 |
Republican
|
Charles Dawes |
|
31
|
1929-1933
|
Herbert C. Hoover |
54
|
1874
1964 |
Republican
|
Charles Curtis |
|
32
|
1933-1945
|
Franklin D. Roosevelt |
51
|
1882
1945 |
Democrat
|
John Garner Henry A. Wallace Harry S. Truman |
|
33
|
1945-1953
|
Harry S. Truman |
60
|
1884
1972 |
Democrat
|
Alben Barkley |
|
34
|
1953-1961
|
Dwight D. Eisenhower |
62
|
1890
1969 |
Republican
|
Richard M. Nixon |
|
35
|
1961-1963
|
John F. Kennedy |
43
|
1917
1963 |
Democrat
|
Lyndon B. Johnson |
|
36
|
1963-1969
|
Lyndon B. Johnson |
55
|
1908
1973 |
Democrat
|
Hubert Humphrey |
|
37
|
1969-1974
|
Richard M. Nixon |
56
|
1913
1994 |
Republican
|
Spiro Agnew Gerald R. Ford |
|
38
|
1974-1977
|
Gerald R. Ford |
61
|
1913
2006 |
Republican
|
Nelson Rockefeller |
|
39
|
1977-1981
|
Jimmy Carter |
52
|
1924
- |
Democrat
|
Walter Mondale |
|
40
|
1981-1989
|
Ronald Reagan |
69
|
1911
2004 |
Republican
|
George H. W. Bush |
|
41
|
1989-1993
|
George H.W. Bush |
62
|
1924
2018 |
Republican
|
Dan Quayle |
|
42
|
1993-2001
|
Bill Clinton |
46
|
1946
- |
Democrat
|
Al Gore |
|
43
|
2001-2009
|
George W. Bush |
54
|
1946
- |
Republican
|
Richard Cheney |
|
44
|
2009-2017
|
Barack Obama |
48
|
1961
- |
Democrat
|
Joe Biden |
|
45
|
2017-2021
|
Donald Trump |
70
|
1946
- |
Republican
|
Michael Pence |
|
46
|
2021 - 2025
|
Joe Biden |
78
|
1942
- |
Democrat
|
Kamala Harris |
|
47
|
2025 - current
|
Donald Trump |
78
|
1946
- |
Republican
|
JD Vance |