PRESIDENTS' PERSONALITIES RUN THE GAMUT.Byline: BETTIE RENCORET Senior columnist LANCASTER - With Election Day just over the horizon it's kind of fun to take a look at some facts about the men, most of whom were senior citizens, who have held the office of president down through the years. To date, for instance, there has never been a president of Latino, Italian, American Indian American Indian or Native American or Amerindian or indigenous American Any member of the various aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere, with the exception of the Eskimos (Inuit) and the Aleuts. , African-American, Semitic or Asian-American decent. Most presidents' ancestors came from Britain. Three were Dutch: Martin Van Buren, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Herbert Hoover and Dwight David Eisenhower Dwight David Eisenhower II (born 1948) is the grandson of the 34th President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower. His father is the former U.S. ambassador to Belgium, John Eisenhower. were Swiss-German. Surprisingly, a college education doesn't seem to be a prerequisite for the presidency, although it helps to have a degree of some kind. Some apparently had no formal upper-division education, or at least never graduated: George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Van Buren, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Grover Cleveland and Harry S. Truman For other persons named Harry Truman, see Harry Truman (disambiguation). Harry S. Truman (May 8 1884 – December 26 1972) was the thirty-third President of the United States (1945–1953); as vice president, he succeeded to the office upon the death of Franklin D. . Most of the presidents of the past were attorneys, but there were a few exceptions for occupations. Washington was a planter; William H. Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant and Eisenhower were soldiers; Andrew Johnson, tailor; Herbert Hoover, engineer; Warren Harding, editor; Harry S. Truman, businessman; Woodrow Wilson and Lyndon B. Johnson, educators; Jimmy Carter, peanut grower; and Ronald Reagan, actor. All but one of the presidents were married. The only bachelor in the White House was James Buchanan. Reagan was the only one who had been divorced. JFK, the youngest man elected president, was the only Roman Catholic and the only one who was a Boy Scout in his youth. He was also the youngest, at 46, to die in office, but not the youngest to be inaugurated. That was Teddy Roosevelt at the age of 42. Kennedy was 43. The oldest was Reagan at 69. Six of the presidents, including Buchanan, were childless. The others were Washington, James Madison, Andrew Jackson, James Polk and Warren G.Harding. Seven of those with children were comparatively prolific. John Tyler, for instance, fathered 14 by two wives, while William H. Harrison had 10 by one wife. Rutherford B. Hayes and his wife had eight; James A. Garfield, seven. Presidential physical characteristics ran the gamut, but the smallest to serve was James Madison, who was 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed only 100 pounds. At the other extreme was William H. Taft. He was 6 feet 2 inches tall and tipped the scales at 300 pounds. Because of Taft's immensity im·men·si·ty n. pl. im·men·si·ties 1. The quality or state of being immense. 2. Something immense: "the empty immensity of earth, sky, and water" , a White House bathroom had to be remodeled. A special bathtub, large enough to accommodate four average-sized men, was installed. Eight of the presidents died in office and were succeeded by their vice presidents. They were Harrison, succeeded by Tyler; Taylor, by Millard Fillmore; Lincoln, by Andrew Johnson; James Garfield, by Chester A. Arthur; William McKinley, by Teddy Roosevelt; Harding, by Calvin Coolidge; FDR, by Truman; JFK, by Lyndon Johnson. Presidential party affiliations have been as follows: one National Union, two Federalists, four Democratic-Republicans, four Whigs, 14 Democrats and 17 Republicans. No party designations were used in the first election. The party system was introduced during Washington's first term, and the two-party system A two-party system is a form of party system where two major political parties dominate the voting in nearly all elections. As a result, all, or nearly all, elected offices end up being held by candidates endorsed by the two major parties. came about as a result of the election in 1824 of John Quincy Adams, when the Democratic-Republican party The Jeffersonian Republican party, better known as the Democratic-Republican Party, is an ancestor of the modern Democratic Party. It evolved in the 1790s during the early days of George Washington's presidency. split into two factions. Abraham Lincoln was the first bearded president. Others after him were Grant, Hayes, Garfield and Harrison. There has been only one father and son to each attain the presidency, John Adams in 1797 and John Quincy Adams in 1825. But Benjamin Harrison, whose term began in 1889, was the great-grandson of William Henry Noun 1. William Henry - English chemist who studied the quantities of gas absorbed by water at different temperatures and under different pressures (1775-1836) Henry Harrison, who was inaugurated 48 years earlier, in 1841. For sports fans, the first president to pitch the opening ball for a new baseball season was Taft. That was on April 14, 1910, for the American League American League (AL) One of the two associations of professional baseball teams in the U.S. and Canada designated as major leagues; the other is the National League (NL). opener between Washington and Philadelphia. Washington won 3-0 before a crowd of 12,000. All of these statistics will have absolutely no impact on the outcome of the current election. They are only meant to be an interesting study in trivia contrasts. Be sure to vote. Menus for the week at the senior life nutrition sites in Lancaster, Palmdale and South Valley have been announced. All meals include bread, margarine and coffee, tea or milk for a donation of $2. Monday: Spaghetti with meatballs, mixed vegetables, spinach salad, apple, grape juice. Tuesday: Barbecued pork Barbecued pork may refer to:
Noun, pl long narrow green beans that are cooked and eaten as a vegetable , coleslaw cole·slaw also cole slaw n. A salad of finely shredded raw cabbage and sometimes shredded carrots, dressed with mayonnaise or a vinaigrette. , chocolate pudding. Wednesday: Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes n. pl. 1. Potatoes which have been boiled and mashed to a pulpy consistency, usu. with sparing addition of milk, salt, butter, or other flavoring. It is a popular accompaniment to a meat course [U.S., 1900's], providing bulk and calories to a meal. , corn Niblets, marinated salad, apple cobbler. Thursday: Tuna pasta salad, pea salad, garden salad A garden salad is a salad consisting of lettuce and simple vegetables found in a small vegetable garden such as tomatoes, carrots, onions, and dressing. , orange juice, Jell-O. Friday: VETERANS DAY OBSERVED. |
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