Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Presidential Firsts

Much is being made of the history making inauguration of Barack Obama, our first African-American President. It certainly is a momentous occasion. Here are some other, less momentous presidential firsts.
  • Ulysses S. Grant was the first to run against a woman. His opponent was Victoria Woodhull, a former prostitute who was the nominee of the Equal Rights Party.
  • Abraham Lincoln was the first to receive a patent.
  • Millard Filmore was the first to have a stepmother.
  • Herbert Hoover was the first millionaire and the first to have a telephone on his desk.
  • FDR was the first to appear on TV and made the first Presidential flight.
  • Jimmy Carter was the first born in a hospital.
  • Benjamin Harrison was the first to attend a baseball game.
  • William Harrison was the first to die in office.
  • Martin Van Buren was the first who was born as a US citizen. He was also the first president born after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
  • Richard Nixon was the first to visit all 50 states.
  • Teddy Roosevelt was the first to travel abroad while in office.
  • John Quincy Adams was the first to reach the office of President without winning the popular vote. He was also the first son of a former president to ascend to the office.
  • Warren Harding was the first to ride to his inauguration in an automobile and the first to speak on the radio.



*Information from biography.com, nationalgeographic.com, and enarta.msn.com

24 comments:

Bijoux said...

Woodrow Wilson was the first (and only) president to earn a doctorate degree (political science).

lime said...

cocotte, nice addition to the list, thanks!

Anonymous said...

I'll be watching the TV machine... not just because I can be a news nerd... but the opportunity to witness history is just too enticing.

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

The one about Carter surprised me.

Today is one "first" I'm really thrilled about.

S said...

Bill Clinton was the very first president to be caught doing an intern in the oval office.

S said...

Im just goofing off, I LOVE Bill Clinton!

furiousBall said...

great day today isn't it?

Craver Vii said...

On the day after celebrating the life of MLK, I hope that this President benefits from righteous activists who bring healing where we need it, in a positive way, like the good doctor. One man on capitol hill cannot save the country alone. This country needs all her people to make good choices. The better we do, the better things will be for our President.

barman said...

Hover was the first millionaire ... now I think you need to be a millionaire to run.

Yep the Jimmy Carter one is very surprising.

Martin Van Buren was also surprising to me. I need to learn my history a little better than my current grasp of it.

Very nice. I love these presidential first ...

Suldog said...

Those are fascinating facts. Imagine that - Carter was the first one born in a hospital! I would have never guessed that.

Thanks for the infotainment!

Suldog said...

Oh, and to add to the list: Kennedy was the first Catholic.

snowelf said...

Ugh! I wish I was home to watch the festivities! Will you be my surrogate watcher, Lime?? :)
What a very cool list.

--snow

Desmond Jones said...

I like the Van Buren one; of course, the two are not unrelated. . .

And, whereas WH Harrison was the first to die in office, and Lincoln the first to be assassinated, Andrew Jackson was the first to be the target of an attempted assassination. . .

And I, like the others, am a little surprised that no president before Carter was born in a hospital. . .

Anonymous said...

Today is a crazy day indeed :) I'll be reading his speeches online as soon as they are posted in oh about 2 hours :)

Wonderful post of firsts! :)

Cooper said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cooper said...

Richard Nixon was the first President to make me realize that all politicians are scumbags... I'm surprised they didn't list that on Encarta...

Anonymous said...

Ms Lime you always keep me well informed. Cheers My Lady!

X&O's

Anonymous said...

Ms Lime you always keep me well informed. Cheers My Lady!

X&O's

Ed & Jeanne said...

I thought Hoover was also the first president to be named after a vacuum...

Anonymous said...

Interesting history leson! We dragged the kids up, just in case someday people ask where were you when Obama took office....we wanted them to know!

G-Man said...

And Bill Clinton was the first President to have a chick diddle herself with a Presidential Cigar in the Oval Office Bathroom!!

Elle Dubya said...

i wonder which was the first to have "indoor plumbing" if ya know what i mean! ;)

Daniel said...

I really liked that list of firsts you came up with. I was not aware about some of those.

Thanks for the specific history lesson.

S said...

Great minds think alike, Gman.

:P