PRESIDENTS

The Best Baseball Players Ever, According to Richard Nixon

President Ronald Reagan with German chancellor Helmut Kohl at the Berlin Wall in 1987.

Tear Out This Line: How Ronald Reagan’s Most Famous Words Almost Got Silenced

On June 12, 1987, President Reagan stood by the Berlin Wall and implored: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" It is one of Reagan's most famous speeches and most memorable lines—but it almost never made it past Reagan's lips.

11 Tips for That Benjamin Harrison Birthday Bash You're Probably Planning

If you’re looking for an excuse to host an impromptu Monday get-together, why not throw a birthday bash for America's last bearded president? Today happens to be Benjamin Harrison’s 179th. Here are 11 party-planning tips that’ll help you set the scene for

Conversation Starters for That John Quincy Adams Birthday Bash You're Probably Throwing

Hulton Archive/ Next week (July 11) is John Quincy Adams' birthday! While the idea of celebrating the 250th birthday of some dead guy with killer muttonchops surely appeals to any flosser, your guests might feel weird attending a party in honor of a pres

A Brief History of Billy Beer

When the national press descended on Plains, GA, during the 1976 presidential campaign, the journalists were looking for some insight into Democratic challenger Jimmy Carter’s character. They found something even better: Carter’s hard-drinking younger b

George Peter Alexander Healy, Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

5 Things You Didn't Know About John Tyler

You know that John Tyler took over the presidency when William Henry Harrison died in 1841, but what else do you know about "Tyler Too?"

10 Presidential Fashion Flubs

Rutherford B. Hayes: The National Hero of ... Paraguay?

In Rutherford B. Hayes' hometown of Delaware, Ohio, there's a memorial to the late U.S. president; it's a plaque that marks his birthplace, which is now a gas station. In Paraguay, people might find this fact horribly offensive.

A Brief History of Presidential Vacations

We're in the throes of summer vacation season, but at least one American is still on the job. While it's rumored that President Obama will follow in the footsteps of President Clinton and vacation on Martha's Vineyard, he hasn't had a chance to break out

Ollie Atkins, White House photographer, Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

11 Notable Presidential Pardons

Presidents as far back as George Washington have waited until their final days in office to sign pardons. Let's take a look at some of history's more notable ones.

Everything You Wanted to Know About the Electoral College But Were Afraid to Ask

Who makes up the Electoral College? Where and when does the Electoral College vote? What happens if no candidate received 270 electoral votes? And all your other Electoral College questions answered.

LBJ: The President Who Marked His Territory

Here, we're choosing to remember Lyndon B. Johnson not by the many political wheels he set into motion, but by the stuff he kept by his side—and close to his heart.