PRESIDENTS

A Brief History of White House Renovations and Near-Demolitions

What's revealed about some of America’s presidents in 'Under This Roof' is nothing next to the wild history of the building itself.

6 Presidential Facts About James Buchanan

Some American presidents have their faces on currency, some get memorialized in film and literature. Then there are the others, whose all-but-forgotten names are unceremoniously attached to middle schools and parks across the country—or removed from major

7 Presidential Facts About William Henry Harrison

Learn more about our ninth president, William Henry Harrison.

8 Multilingual U.S. Presidents

7. During his presidency, Herbert Hoover and his wife Lou would hold their private conversations in Mandarin to prevent their staff from listening in.

Live From the White House: The First-Ever Televised Presidential Speech

Harry Truman decided to take advantage of an exciting new medium back in October 1947.

8 Things You Might Not Know About Chester A. Arthur

He was a fashionable dude, for one.

7 Presidential Facts About Martin Van Buren

2. He was the first American-born president.

Why Washington Relinquished His Power, And Why He Returned

“For Washington,” writes Edward Larson in The Return of George Washington, “retirement made sense.”

10 Secrets of the White House Calligraphers

A few things you might not know about these stately handwriting masters.

Party at the White House! The Time the Roosevelts Threw a Toga Party

Presidents throw themed parties just like the rest of us—only with better costumes.

Supreme Court Chief Justice William Taft—The President Who Also Sat on the Bench

William Howard Taft left a much cooler trivia factoid than that bathtub story.

The Early Jobs of 9 World Leaders

Heads of state: They really are just like us.

The Story Behind That Nixon-RoboCop Photo

I know I’m not the only one mesmerized by this phenomenally random photo of the retired 37th President of the United States palling around with The Future Of Law Enforcement.

The Time Herbert Hoover’s Parents Mistook Him for Dead

If not for a doctor uncle, Herbert Hoover might not have lived past age 2.

Collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society

John and Abigail Adams: America's First Power Couple

The Adamses set the tone for generations of American political celebrity pairs to come.

The Time the Roosevelts Served Hot Dogs to Royalty

From Memorial Day to Labor Day, people in the U.S. eat more than 7 billion hot dogs. In 1939, that included the Roosevelts and their guests, the King and Queen of England.

10 Things Revealed About the Nixon White House

The 15 Funniest Secret Service Code Names

Who wouldn't want to be called "Whaleboat" or "Grandma"?

12 of George Washington's Rules of Civility That Still Apply

Though some of the founding father’s rules are in need of a fresh coat of paint for modern life, these 12 are as appropriate as ever.

The Surprising Story of Famed JFK Impersonator Vaughn Meader (and Why You've Never Heard of Him)

Vaughn Meader skyrocketed to stardom with his impersonation of John F. Kennedy in the early 1960s, even winning a Grammy. But it all came crashing down the day the President was assassinated.

10 Presidential Marriage Proposals

Ten revealing true stories of how our nation’s greatest romantics in chief put a ring on it.

National Museum of Health and Medicine, Flickr // CC BY 2.0

This Is the Brain of the Man Who Shot James A. Garfield

The failed lawyer, newspaperman, and evangelist—enraged that the president’s advisors had refused him an ambassadorship he believed he deserved—had been stalking Garfield for months, intent on killing him.

Grave Sightings: James Garfield

Though he was in office less than a year, Garfield's grave is one of the most elaborate presidential monuments ever built.

11 Interesting Facts About Being on the Service Staff at the White House

'The Residence' is a mesmerizing history of America from the service staff’s heretofore untold point of view.

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