Presidential “lasts” are a surprising look at the lives of US presidents and the time during which they served. From significant presidential milestones to personal triumphs and trials, here are some unexpected presidential lasts. Presidents are known for being the “first” at something. The first President of the United States to have a beard was Abraham Lincoln, the first Commander-in-Chief to be impeached was Andrew Johnson, and the first US president to be seen on television was Franklin D. Roosevelt - you get the idea. But rarely do people make note of the last time a president did something.
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Years In Office: 1989-1993 Presidential Last: President Jimmy Carter was the first future Commander-in-Chief born in a hospital, but it wasn't until George H.W. Bush that the United States saw the last man born at home serve in the Oval Office. Bush, born on June 12, 1924, came into the world on the second floor of his family's home in Milton, Massachusetts. The family moved to Connecticut soon after.
Years In Office: 1993-2001 Presidential Last: When Bill Clinton became president, the budget of the United States was at a $290 billion deficit. The Clinton administration introduced a robust economic plan and, coupled with an economic upturn, the budget surplus of the country reached its highest level ever. By the end of the Clinton presidency, the budget surplus was $237 billion.
Years In Office: 1845-1849 Presidential Last: James Buchanan (president from 1857-1861), a lifelong bachelor, had no biological children he adopted Harriet Lane, his niece, and his nephew, Henry James Buchanan. Warren G. Harding, the 29th President of the United States, didn't have any legitimate children, but he had at least one child via a mistress. Elizabeth Ann Blaesing was born in 1919 to Nan Britton, although Harding did not meet her. James K. Polk and his wife, Sarah, had no biological or adopted children. Historians speculate that Polk was left infertile by a medical procedure to remove bladder stones. The Polks did help raise Marshall Tate Polk, a nephew, but there was no formal adoption.
Years In Office: 1945-1953 Presidential Last: After graduating from high school, Harry S. Truman worked and served in the Missouri National Guard. He rose to the ranks of the military during World War One and, upon his return to the US, entered politics. Truman gained political prestige as a US Senator and was nominated to be President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's vice presidential running-mate in 1944. After Roosevelt passed away in April 1945, Truman became president. Months later, he made the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan and oversaw the end of WW2. He never attended college or completed a degree.
Years In Office: 1889-1893 Presidential Last: Abraham Lincoln was the first US president to have a beard and many other presidents have had facial hair to some extent. The last President of the United States to be elected with a full beard was Benjamin Harrison. Since William Howard Taft donned a mustache, no president has had any facial hair. Truman briefly sported facial hair while vacationing in Key West, but it didn't last long.
Years In Office: 1901-1909 Presidential Last: Harry S. Truman didn't have a middle name (intended to honor both of his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young), but he did have an initial. As a result, the last US president without anything other than a first and last name was Teddy Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt Jr was named after his father, a man who also didn't have a middle name. Middle names as common didn't gain widespread popularity until around 1900. That said, Roosevelt's successor, William Howard Taft, is rarely mentioned without his middle name.
Years In Office: 1897-1901 Presidential Last: Established in 1865, the United States Secret Service was initially tasked with addressing counterfeiting and other financial crimes. By the 1890s, the organization provided part-time protection to the US president, although it was informal. It wasn't until after President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901 that Congress asked the US Secret Service to protect the president. In 1906, Congress passed the Sundry Civil Expenses Act and allocated funds for the Secret Service to protect the president. By that point, the new president, Teddy Roosevelt, had already started receiving Secret Service protection.
Years In Office: 1953-1961 Presidential Last: President Dwight D. Rockefeller traveled by train during his time in office, on campaign trips, and on other occasions due to his wife Mamie's aversion to flying. When Eisenhower traveled by train, he didn't participate make stops to converse with crowds because he considered them undignified. At times, Eisenhower did fly, but Mamie always took the train.
Years In Office: 1913-1921 Presidential Last: Grover Cleveland wed for the first time while serving as president, while John Tyler remarried during his presidency. In 1915, Woodrow Wilson became the last president to get married while serving as Commander-in-Chief. Woodrow Wilson was married to Ellen Axson Wilson when he became President of the United States in 1913. Ellen Wilson passed away in August 1914 from Bright's disease (a disease of the kidneys). The following year, President Wilson married Edith Bolling Galt, a widow with business acumen and political savvy in her own right. They were wed at her home on December 18, 1915.
Years In Office: 1841 Presidential Last: The last individual to serve as Commander-in-Chief born before the United States became a nation was William Henry Harrison, the ninth US President. Harrison was born on Berkeley Plantation in the future state of Virginia in 1773. Virginia became a state in 1788. Harrison was only in office for a month. He served from March 4 to April 4, 1841, before dying of pneumonia.
Years In Office: 1933-1945 Presidential Last: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was inaugurated on March 4, 1933, in front of hundreds of thousands of onlookers. Before Roosevelt, presidents were inaugurated during the spring. In 1937, Congress passed the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, changing the date of the inauguration to January 20th. If the 20th falls on a Sunday, the inauguration takes place on the 21st.
Years In Office: 1809-1817 Presidential Last: James Madison was one of the Founding Fathers and served as the fourth US president. He was only one of two men who signed the Constitution of the United States - a document he was fundamental in helping ratify - in 1807. The other was George Washington. Only two future US presidents signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, but there was no overlap with the Constitution. Those men were Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. The last Founding Father to serve as president was the fifth US President, James Monroe.
Years In Office: 1977-1981 Presidential Last: Only four US presidents have visited Iran, the last of whom was Jimmy Carter in 1933. Previously, Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Richard Nixon had been to Iran. Carter traveled to Tehran and met with Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in December 1977. Two years later, the Shah was forced to flee Iran amid protests and eventual overthrow.
Years In Office: 1857-1861 Presidential Last: James Buchanan, the 15th President of the United States, was the last Commander-in-Chief who was unmarried. He's also the only president who never wed. Buchanan's bachelorhood was the subject of speculation, especially given his close friendship with fellow politician William Rufus King. Because he did not have a wife to attend official events, Buchanan's niece, Harriet Rebecca Lane Johnson, took on the role of First Lady instead.
Years In Office: 1963-1969 Presidential Last: When a US president is inaugurated, it falls to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to administer the formal oath of office. After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson immediately became president. Since he was also in Texas, Johnson could not immediately be sworn in by the Chief Justice. Instead, Judge Sarah T. Hughes, a federal district judge and friend of Johnson's administered the oath aboard Air Force One before Johnson returned to Washington, DC.
