Presidential Trivia

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True Dem beat me to most of it...but, additionally, Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe, & Wilson & Cleveland used their middle names.  (Why Cleveland used Grover instead of Stephen is beyond me)
[And, for the record, Monroe was the first Senator elected President.]


As for True Dem's question, I'm pretty sure it's Millard Fillmore.


Which President had the longest wait between their first election to Congress and their accession to the Presidency?   (Two possible answers, depending on how you treat territories)

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gporter, if you're going to participate in this as rabidly as you seem to be, could you at least try to get the questions right?

Off the top of my head, I know that Jefferson and Van Buren were governors, and (looking it up) apparently Monroe and Tyler were as well (not to mention Jackson & Harrison if you count territories).


And, for the record, the answer to meeker's question is (I assume) Grant--though unconsecutively, in 1880.  (None of the first five Presidents tried and Jackson willingly handed over power to Van Buren)


Anyway, back to gporter's question.

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One of the Reconstruction-era Senators, perhaps?

Blanche K. Bruce, probably just as a Mississippi favorite son, in the...1880? Republican Convention?

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Andrew Jackson, definitely (in the Revolutionary War, at that).

McKinley (I think) very narrowly avoided being one late in the Civil War, but I don't believe he ever was one.

Can't think of anyone else but Jackson, so no complete answer.

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No president has been from a state where the electors weren't popularly elected by some fashion at the time, so it's not that.

Tyler, Johnson, and Arthur never had anybody (let alone themselves) vote for them for President.  But that's only three (Fillmore ran again in '56). 

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J.J. beat me to my (incorrect) guess of Buchanan.  Presumably Buchanan got back from London before the election.

Presumably, Nixon 1968 - 1972, a jump from 301 EV to 520 EV...I don't think anyone else can beat a 219 vote jump.  (People have fallen further, though).


New Question (another easy one):

No Republican has been elected President without winning a certain state.  Which one? (really easy)
No Democrat has been elected President without winning a certain state.  Which one?

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Ayup.  (Same is true Arkansas on the Democratic side, but that wasn't admitted until 1834-ish).  Your question.

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J.J. beat me to my (incorrect) guess of Buchanan.  Presumably Buchanan got back from London before the election.

Presumably, Nixon 1968 - 1972, a jump from 301 EV to 520 EV...I don't think anyone else can beat a 219 vote jump.  (People have fallen further, though).


Not even close.

Oh, silly faithless electors.  Serves me right...

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As far as I can tell, it should just be Tyler...and Jackson & Harrison if you count territorial governors.

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Looks like a total of 14:

Rufus King (the Federalist, not Tyler's VP)
Martin Van Buren
Millard Fillmore
John Breckinridge
Theodore Roosevelt
Calvin Coolidge
Franklin Roosevelt
Harry Truman
Richard Nixon
Lyndon Johnson
Walter Mondale
George H.W. Bush
Bob Dole
Al Gore

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Which presidents, despite being successfully reelected, got a lower percentage of electoral votes in their second election than in their first?

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Yeah, it was Everett.

John Tyler.

Which (major party) Vice-Presidential candidates have run under different Presidential candidates? (this obviously includes George Clinton & John C. Calhoun as a subset)

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Yeah, it was Everett.

John Tyler.

Which (major party) Vice-Presidential candidates have run under different Presidential candidates? (this obviously includes George Clinton & John C. Calhoun as a subset)

George Clinton (Jefferson-1804, Madison-1808)
John Calhoun (Adams and Jackson-1824, Jackson-1828)
John Tyler (Mangum-1836, Harrison-1840)
Adlai Stevenson (Cleveland-1892, Bryan-1900)
Joe Lieberman (Gore-2000, McCain-2008) (I can dream, can't I?)

Which President(s) are buried in Washington, D.C.?  Be careful, this one can be tricky.

Isn't it just Wilson?  (Maybe he's "entombed" but not buried or something).

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Who was the first president to sail in a submarine?

The obvious answer is Jimmy Carter, though I'm sure that's wrong.

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Depending on how you read the question, Lincoln as well.  (Elected to congress, defeated for re-election, never elected to Congress again before becoming President).

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Sierra Club? for the organization.

As for "only living President during their time in office":

John Adams, Hoover, and Nixon, at the very least.

Perhaps Teddy Roosevelt as well?

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Which President has had the longest tenure in Congress?

Gerald Ford was in Congress for an awfully long time (since 1948?), so that would be my guess.

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Which Presidents served as mayors at any point during their political careers?

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Which Presidents served as mayors at any point during their political careers?

I know Andrew Johnson was and I think Grover Cleveland.

You've got two of them--there's one more.

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Hoover (Commerce)
Taft (War)
Buchanan (State, as are all the others)
Van Buren
Adams
Madison
Monroe
Jefferson

[If you count Assistant Secretary of the Navy, both Roosevelts]
[Bush Sr. if "CIA Director" is a cabinet position]

[And, of course, Jeff Davis was Secretary of War as well]

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Hoover's the only reasonable answer left at this point.

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Who was the last President to serve in the House of Representatives?

George H. W. Bush, although Gerald Ford served in the House more recently than Bush.

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Who was the last First Lady who was not the wife of the respective President, and who was that President?

The last President who was single at some point in their term was Woodrow Wilson (if only for a bit over a year, so he may not have had a 'first lady' who was not his wife).

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Who was the last First Lady who was not the wife of the respective President, and who was that President?

The last President who was single at some point in their term was Woodrow Wilson (if only for a bit over a year, so he may not have had a 'first lady' who was not his wife).

To my knowledge, there was no First Lady between August 1914 and December 1915.  It's true that Wilson's daughter and cousin both took over various hostess duties in that time, but neither were considered the permanent 'First Lady'.  So in short, it's not the answer I'm looking for. 

Thought that was probably the case.

Well, if it's not Wilson and it's not Cleveland...that pretty much leaves either Harrison or McKinley (I know Taft & Roosevelt were married during their tenures in office [if to his second wife, in Roosevelt's case).

Don't know anything about Harrison or McKinley's First Ladies, so can't answer the question.

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All I could find (in addition to TR)

George Washington
George H.W. Bush
George W. Bush
Calvin Coolidge

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Which sitting presidents appeared on the floor of the US Senate while it was in session.

Hmmm...I'm pretty sure JFK was sitting at some point while he was in the Senate.