America has had some august chief executives but also some quirky ones. Here is a small selection of things you might not have known about 10 of them:
1. First U.S. president George Washington rejected a movement among army officers to make him king of the United States.
2. Andrew Jackson, 7th U.S. president, dueled with Charles Dickinson after he insulted Jackson's marriage. Jackson let his opponent fire first, giving himself time to take aim. Jackson took a bullet in the chest and, without flinching, calmly killed his man.
3. James Buchanan, 15th U.S. president and the first unmarried man to be elected president, reportedly took great pride in his tiny feet, although he was a large robust man.
4. Often depicted wearing a tall black stovepipe hat, 16th president of the United States Abraham Lincoln carried letters, bills, and notes in his hat.
5. The 18th U.S. president, Ulysses S. Grant was born Hiram Ulysses Grant, but he changed his name because he did not like his monogram, HUG.
6. Both ambidextrous and multilingual, 20th president of the United States James Garfield could write Greek with one hand while writing Latin with the other.
7. William Taft, 27th president of the United States, weighed more than 300 pounds and had a special oversized bathtub installed in the White House.
8. The 28th president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, allowed sheep to graze on the White House lawn during World War I; their wool helped raise money for the Red Cross.
9. The 38th president of the United States, Gerald Ford turned down offers to play professional football for the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions.
10. As a young lifeguard at a riverside beach near Dixon, Illinois, future 40th U.S. president Ronald Reagan rescued 77 people from drowning.
Sorry – can’t attribute – I’ve had this a long time - maybe msn.
James Garfield sounds pretty impressive. Did he ever rest, I wonder. It sounds quite exhausting imagining him being so active with both hands and his brain at the same time.
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