Years ago, when I was teaching American history, I put together a folder of lesson plans for substitute teachers to use in case of my absence. Remembering what a (fun) challenge it was for me as a history student to learn the names of the U.S. presidents, I put together the following exercise. To those of you who already know the presidents in order, perhaps you’ll enjoy some of the little trivia I picked up about them. For those of you with gaps (large and small), lotsa luck.
1. “Couldn’t tell a lie” (1789-1797)
2. Nicknamed “the Duke of Braintree” by his detractors in Congress (1797-1801)
3. Author of Declaration of Independence (1801-1809)
4. Chief author of the Constitution (1809-1817)
5. Called for a western hemisphere free of European colonization (“the ____ Doctrine”) (1817-1825)
6. Son of a former president (1825-1829)
7. First frontier-born president, nicknamed “the Indian Fighter” (1829-1837)
8. First president born under the US flag (1837-1841)
9. Died of pneumonia first month in office (1841)
10. First VP elevated to office after the death of the president (1841-1845)
11. Extended the US’s boundaries to the Pacific Ocean (1845-1849)
12. Died of milk and cherries (1849-1850)
13. He signed bills of the Compromise of 1850, which among other things, ended the slave trade in Washington DC and enacted the Fugitive Slave Act (1850-1853)
14. Only president from New Hampshire (1853-1857)
15. Only president never to have married (1857-1861)
16. Led the country through the Civil War, shot in Ford’s Theatre (1861-1865)
17. First president to be impeached (1865-1869)
18. Former Union general, to whom Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered (1869-1877)
19. Won by one electoral vote (1877-1881)
20. Shot (1881)
21. Approved a measure in 1882 excluding immigration of paupers, criminals, and lunatics (1881-1885)
22. Only president married in the White House (1885-1889)
23. Grandson of a president (1889-1893)
24. This president had served before (1893-1897)
25. Shot in Buffalo (1897-1901)
26. Namesake of the Teddy Bear, founded the country’s national park system (1901-1909)
27. Weighed over 300 pounds, had special “jumbo” bathtub installed in White House (1909-1913)
28. Led country through WWI, founded League of Nations (1913-1921)
29. Died of heart attack (1921-1923)
30. From Vermont, nicknamed “Silent Cal” (1923-1929)
31. Namesake of Depression-era shanty-towns (1929-1933)
32. Only president elected to fourth term; died of cerebral hemorrhage (1933-1945)
33. Ordered the dropping of the A-bomb on Japan (1945-1953)
34. Preferred to be remembered as a general than a president (1953-1961)
35. Sent “advisors” to Vietnam; shot in Dallas (1961-1963)
36. Sent soldiers to Vietnam (1963-1969)
37. Only president to resign from office (1969-1974)
38. The first person appointed to the vice presidency under the terms of the 25th amendment; i.e., first president never to win a national election (1974-1977)
39. Former peanut farmer (1977-1981)
40. Former B-movie actor, nicknamed “the Gipper” (1981-1989)
41. Served in WWII as the youngest naval aviator in U.S. history (1989-1993)
42. Second president to be impeached (1993-2001)
43. Lost the popular vote; elected by a Supreme Court decision (2001-2009)
44. First man of African descent to win a national election (2009- )
Shimshonit 
Re No 14: What about Jed Bartlet? He was from NH! ;-)
I know. It was SOOOO tempting to say something like that. But then I’d also have to portray W. as having said he’d be president for a WHOLE YEAR. Gotta keep that TV separate from reality–if we can.