Age:57 George Washington was elected America's first president. There was some debate about whether the people wanted a king or a president, but Mr. Washington was not interested in being a king. The first President unified the new nation and shaped the chief executive's duties. He refused to run for a third term. On their wedding day, Martha Washington gave him a miniature portrait of herself. He wore it on a chain around his neck until his death 40 years later.
Age:61 John Adams became America's second president. Mr. Adams was the first president to live in the White House. Adams had a tough job filling Washington's shoes. His advocacy of the Alien and Sedition Acts allowed him to silence critics, but made him unpopular. He lost reelection to Thomas Jefferson.
Age:57 Thomas Jefferson was elected the third president of the United States of America. Considered the most brilliant President, he wrote the Declaration of Independence, founded the University of Virginia, and was an architect, a farmer, and a scientist. Jefferson approved the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, which nearly doubled the size of the U.S.
Age:57 James Madison was elected as the fourth United States president. He led the country through the War of 1812, and later became known as the father of the Bill of Rights. Madison is considered the father of the Bill of Rights. Madison presided over the War of 1812 with Britain, during which the White House was burned. The war ended in a draw.
Age:58 James Monroe became the country's fifth president. President Monroe's presidency was calm because there was little fighting between the political parties during his term. Monroe lived out his retirement in poverty. His term is called the "Era of Good Feeling". He formulated the Monroe Doctrine, which declared the Americas off-limits to European meddling.
Age: 57 John Quincy Adams became America's sixth president. His father, John Adams, was America's second president. They were the first father/son in history to both be president! Accused of winning the White House through corruption, he was plagued by accusations of misdeeds throughout his presidency. After his presidency, Adams served nine terms in the House of Representatives, until his death in 1848.
Age: 61 Andrew Jackson was elected as the 7th U.S. president. He was a rough and tough president, and he was the first president to ride on a train. Though he was a rich planter, Jackson was considered the common people's friend. Dubbed "Old Hickory" because he was so tough, Jackson greatly expanded the powers of the Presidency.
Age:54 Martin Van Buren became the eighth American president. He served during an American depression, and most people did not consider him successful. Van Buren was the first President to be born an American citizen, rather than a British subject. Van Buren's Presidency was marred by an economic depression that led to bank failures and food riots. He was easily defeated for reelection.
Age: 68 William Henry Harrison became America's ninth president. He served the briefest term as president when he died only a month after moving into office. Harrison delivered a marathon inaugural speech during which he caught a cold. He died a month later. Harrison was the first President to die in office.
Age: 51 John Tyler became the tenth American president. He took over President Harrison's term, but it wasn't an easy transition. President Tyler had 15 children, more than any President. Tyler was expected to be a passive "acting President" while he finished Harrison's term. But he refused to be passive. He made enemies in Congress and was the first President to be threatened with impeachment. The effort failed.
Age: 49 James K. Polk was elected the 11th U.S. president. He served during the Mexican War and added the states of Texas and California the United States territory. Polk is the only President to have served as Speaker of the House. Polk was the first "dark horse" or little-known nominee to become President.
Age: 64 Zachary Taylor became the 12th president of America. During his presidency the south threatened to leave the union, and Mr. Taylor tried to keep that from happening. He died during his second year in office. Taylor won fame as a general in the Mexican War. His soldiers called him "Old Rough and Ready." Taylor threatened to use force to keep the South from leaving the Union. After his death, a compromise allowed slavery to continue in the South.
Age: 50 Millard Fillmore was elected as America's thirteenth president. Fillmore approved the Compromise of 1850, allowing slavery in the South. But neither North nor South was happy with it, and Fillmore was blamed for the law's failure. In 1856, Fillmore ran for President on the anti-immigrant Know-Nothing Party ticket.
Age: 48 Franklin Pierce moved into office as the fourteenth president. Mr. Pierce did away with the compromise that President Fillmore had enacted. Pierce's wife hated Washington, D.C., so much, that she fainted when she found out he had been nominated for President. Pierce supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which gutted the Compromise of 1850.
Age: 65 James Buchanan became America's 15th president. Mr. Buchanan failed to keep the southern states happy, and they seceded from the union. Buchanan was the only bachelor to ever serve in the White House. Buchanan tried in vain to find a compromise to keep the South from seceding from the Union, but failed.
Age: 52 Abraham Lincoln was elected as the sixteenth president. He abolished slavery in the country. In 1865 he was shot and killed by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln led the Union into the Civil War to preserve the nation and end slavery. He was assassinated just five days after the Confederate armies surrendered. Polls show that Lincoln is the most admired President.
Age: 56 Andrew Johnson becomes the seventeenth president. Mr. Johnson was a southern senator who stayed loyal to the union. Succeeding Lincoln, Johnson found himself in bitter battles with Congress over Reconstruction. He was impeached and tried by the Senate, but was acquitted by one vote. Johnson was the only southern senator to stay loyal to the Union.
Age: 46 Ulysses S. Grant became the eighteenth United States president. Mr. Grant was the most famous union general during the Civil War. Grant was born Hiram Ulysses Grant, but an error on his application to West Point changed his name to Ulysses Simpson Grant. He liked the initials so much that he kept the name. Grant was the top Union military hero of the Civil War. His two terms were marred by scandals.
Age: 54 Rutherford B. Hayes was elected the 19th American president. Hayes is one of only three Presidents to lose the popular vote but win the office. He won the election by one electoral vote. Hayes's wife, Lucy, was the first First Lady to graduate from college.
Age: 49 James A. Garfield moved into office as the twentieth president. He was assassinated in his first year of office. Garfield set out to reform the "spoils system" by which politicians gave their friends low-level political offices. He was assassinated by a disappointed office seeker. Garfield was the first left-handed President.
Age: 51 Chester A. Arthur became the twenty-first American president. He served during a fairly successful time in American history. He helped create the Civil Service. Arthur was unknown before being elected, but surprised people by being honest and responsible. As a lawyer, Arthur defended a black woman who had been abused on a streetcar. He won the case, which led the streetcar companies to integrate.
Age: 47 Grover Cleveland stepped into office as the 22nd president. He served for two non-consecutive terms. This means the terms weren't back to back. Cleveland is the only President to be elected to two non consecutive terms. Cleveland expanded the Civil Service and ended wasteful government programs. But an economic depression wrecked his second term.
Age: 55 Benjamin Harrison became the country's twenty-third president. His grandfather was president too. He was William Henry Harrison, the ninth president. Harrison was caught between reformers who were fighting the spoils system and those who wanted to continue it, and was defeated after one term.
Age: 55 Grover Cleveland started his second term. An economic depression hit the country during Mr. Cleveland's second term, and he was not considered a successful president. Cleveland expanded the Civil Service and ended wasteful government programs. But an economic depression wrecked his second term. Cleveland is the only President to be elected to two non consecutive terms.
Age: 54 William McKinley became the 25th president. He expanded America's territories by acquiring overseas colonies. He was assassinated. McKinley led the U.S. during the Spanish-American War. Only moments after handing a girl his "lucky" red carnation, McKinley was assassinated.
Age: 42 Theodore Roosevelt was elected as America's twenty-sixth president. He traveled abroad during his presidency. He was the first president to do this. Roosevelt was one of the most activist Presidents. His many accomplishments included the building of the Panama Canal, cracking down on business monopolies, and creating many national parks. Roosevelt was the first President to visit a foreign country while in office.
Age: 51 William Howard Taft became the 27th president. He continued many of Roosevelt's policies and he later became a Supreme Court Justice. A conservative, he alienated the progressive wing of his party and lost reelection. Taft is the only President who became a Supreme Court Justice.
Age: 56 Woodrow Wilson was elected the country's twenty-eighth president. At first he opposed America entering World War 1, but he ended up drafting the peace treaty that helped to end it. Wilson then fought to create the League of Nations, the forerunner of the United Nations. Wilson was the first President to hold a news conference.
Age: 55 Warren G. Harding became the 29th president. President Harding's presidency was the first in which women were allowed to vote. Harding died in office, just as massive corruption in the Teapot Dome scandal was about to become public. Because of these scandals, Harding is regarded as the worst President.
Age: 51 Calvin Coolidge stepped into office. He was the thirtieth president, and he had a prosperous presidency. Coolidge's term was marked by economic prosperity. However, he ignored signs that the stock market was likely to collapse. Coolidge was known as "Silent Cal." Once a reporter said to him, "I bet my editor I could get more than two words out of you." Coolidge replied: "You lose."
Age: 54 Herbert Hoover became the thirty-first American president. A few months into office the stock market crashed, so Mr. Hoover ushered in the Great Depression. Hoover organized relief efforts in Europe after both World Wars.
Age: 51 Franklin D. Roosevelt became America's 32nd president. He led the country out of the Great Depression, and he also led the people to victory during World War 2. He is famous for his Pearl Harbor speech in 1941. He also greatly expanded the size and role of the federal government through his New Deal social programs. Roosevelt is the only President elected four times.
Age: 60 Harry S. Truman was elected the thirty-third president. President Truman made the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. World War 2 ended five days later. Truman also led the U.S. during the Korean War. On his desk, Truman had a plaque that said "The Buck Stops Here."
Age: 62 Dwight D. Eisenhower became the 34th president. President Eisenhower helped end the Korean War. A former World War II general and hero. One of America's most famous soldiers, "Ike" had wanted to go to the Naval Academy instead of West Point. He was turned down for being too old.
Age: 43 John F. Kennedy became the thirty-fifth American president. Mr. Kennedy worked with Martin Luther King to bring about the Civil Rights movement. He was assassinated during his third year as president. In 1962, the U.S. and the Soviet Union hovered on the brink of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy eventually forced the Soviets to back down. Kennedy is the only Roman Catholic to become President.
Age: 55 Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 36th president. He took John F. Kennedy's place after President Kennedy was assassinated. Johnson passed sweeping antipoverty and civil rights programs. However, he also involved the U.S. in the unpopular Vietnam War. Antiwar protests caused him to drop a reelection bid. Johnson was sworn into office on an airplane.
Age: 56 Richard Nixon became Americas' 37th president. During Nixon's first term, he improved relations with the Soviet Union and China and wound down the Vietnam War. But the Watergate scandal forced Nixon to resign before Congress could impeach him. Nixon is the only U.S. President in history to resign his office.
Age: 61 Gerald Ford became the thirty-eighth president. Ford became Vice President after Nixon's Vice President resigned in disgrace, and President after Nixon resigned. His pardon of Nixon was unpopular, probably costing him reelection. Ford is the only President never elected President or Vice President.
Age: 52 Jimmy Carter was elected as the 39th president. After his presidency ended, Mr. Carter traveled the world doing charity work. Carter had success promoting Middle East peace. But soaring oil prices, high inflation, and the Iran hostage crisis made him look weak and ineffectual.
Age: 69 Ronald Reagan was elected as the fortieth American president.Reagan is credited with reviving national pride after the turmoil of the 1960s and 1970s. He enjoyed great popularity, though his conservative policies were controversial. Reagan is the only President to survive after being wounded by a would-be assassin.
Age: 64 George H. W. Bush became the forty-first president. President Bush ended the Cold War and led the first war with Iraq. During Bush's term, the Soviet Union collapsed and the Cold War ended. He also led the U.S. in the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq. But economic troubles at home cost him his reelection bid. Bush was the first sitting Vice President to be elected President since Martin Van Buren.
Age: 46 Bill Clinton was elected as the 42nd U.S. president. Clinton achieved goals such as passage of the NAFTA trade agreement and cuts in the budget deficit. But his popularity was uneven and his second term was marred by scandal. When he was 16, Clinton met President Kennedy at the White House. The experience inspired his interest in politics.
Age: 54 George W. Bush became the forty-third president. Just eight months after being sworn in, President Bush had to unite a mournful country after the September 11th terrorist attacks. A self-proclaimed wartime commander-in-chief, President Bush, like his father, led the United States into war against Iraq. Before focusing on national politics, George Bush was the managing partner and part owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team from 1989-1998.
Age: 47 Barack Obama was elected America's forty-fourth president. He was the first African-American to be elected as president. Barack Obama gained national recognition after he delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. He served as the U.S. Senator for Illinois from 2005 to 2008.
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