John Elway's Life

John Albert Elway, Jr. was born on June 28, 1960 in Port Angeles, Washington. His parents are Janet Elway and John Elway, Sr. In 1979, he led the Granada Hills High School baseball team to the Los Angeles city championship. Elway had a .491 batting average and a 4-2 pitching record. He was the most highly recruited high school athlete in the United States. John made the following All-America teams: Parade, Scholastic Coach, Football News and National Coaches Association. He was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the summer baseball draft. and signed a letter of intent to attend college at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. In 1981, Elway played his final season of college baseball, batting .349 with nine homers and fifty runs batted in. He was the first selection of the New York Yankees in the summer baseball draft. In 1982, John played baseball for the New York Yankees' Class A. It was a farm club in Oneonta, New York. He had .318 average and 24 RBI. He went to football in the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). Then, Elway ended his college football with five major NCAA Division 1-A records and nine major Pac-10 records. He finished in second place in the Heisman Rrophy balloting. In 1983, he earned his degree in ecomonics from Stanford University. John was the first to be selected in the NFL (National Football League) draft. He played for the Baltimore Colts (now the Indianapolis Colts) then played for the Denver Broncos. John Elway has won some Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos. He retired in 1997 and in 2011 he became the Executive Vice President of Football Operations for the Broncos. he is still living and is currently fifty-two.

Tiger Woods' Life

Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods was born on December 30, 1975 in Cypress, California. He was a beautiful baby with dark brown skin. Growing up in Cypress, he had neighbors that had white skin. The neighbors did not want Tiger and his family to stay in the neighborhood. They wanted the Woods family to leave. But Tiger's dad and Tiger's mom refused. They stayed in Cypress to raise their little baby boy. Tiger's dad had a love for golf. Sometimes, he would not be aloud to play on the golf course where people with white skin play. So he just swung some golf balls in the garage. He would sometimes bring along baby Tiger to watch him. But Tiger wanted to swing golf balls, too. One day, the little baby picked up the giant golf club while his dad was around. Then he swung that ball! It was amazing. Tiger was very proud of himself, and his dad was very impressed and surprised. Mr. Woods bought the boy a set of little golf clubs just for him. By the time Tiger was three, he played as well as many adults. When he was five, he went to school. On his first day, he got teased, made fun of, name-called, and beat up. Later, he learned to ignore what others think about him. Years later, he went to Stanford University. Tiger's parents said that school comes first, then golf is second. One time, he went to a tournament and he was the youngest one on the course. Some kids thought that Tiger had no chance of winning the tournament. But they were wrong. To everybody's surprise, he won. He also won the Amateur Golf Tournament in 1994. He was the youngest to ever win that tournament. But then Tiger realized that he had never played as a professional, meaning that he never won a money prize. At age twenty, he joined the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA). Tiger's parent thought that he was ready. But in his first game, he ended up in sixtieth place. Next, he ended up in third place. Then, he played again and won and got placed in first place. He once made a hole in one at the Milwaukee Open. Tiger is still living and is still playing golf. His name is Eldrick, but he was known as the great Tiger Woods.

Roald Dahl's Life

Roald Dahl was born on September 13, 1916 in Cardiff, Wales in the United Kingdom. He was born to Harald Dahl and Sofie Dahl. They were both born in Norway. He would always think that he lived in Norway because they visit Norway each and every single year. Harald's first wife had died before he had married Sofie. Roald's siblings were Ellen Dahl and Louis Dahl, but they were his half brother and half sister. The rest of his siblings were Astri Dahl, Alfhild Dahl, and Else Dahl. Tragedy struck the Dahl family when Roald was four years of age. His older sister Astri had died of appendicitis and his father Harald had died of pneumonia two months after Astri's death. Soon after that horrific tragedy, his mother Sofie Dahl had given birth to Asta, Roald's Little baby sister. Now Sofie had to take care of all of her six children by her own self. When Roald was young, he loved playing outside. He would look at the birds and the butterflies. One time he had eaten a buttercup bulb but he eventually found it very hot. Sometimes he would his tricycle so speedy that he would ride on two wheels. His mother would often tell young Roald stories about trolls and witches. But something strangely weird happened. After he had one of the stories his mom had told him, he forgot the book. His writing experiences happened later on in his life. Once at a sweet store, they were two women that Roald and his friends would think were witches. So they hid a dead mouse in one of the candy jars. Eventually the boys were severely punished. At the age of nine, Sofie sent Roald to boarding school. Before he died, his father had thought that the English schools were the best schools on the planet of Earth. Afterward, Sofie sent all of her children to school. Roald went to St. Peters Prepratory School in Weston-super-Mare in England. That is where he stayed for four years. The staff in St. Peters were super strict. If a student had misbehaved or had broken the rules, they would get beaten with a cane. Later, he wrote a autobiography about his boarding school days so-called Boy.  So after attending St. Peters he attended Repton. When he was twenty-two he began to get bored with his job after attending Repton. He decided to join the war effort. Before that, he worked with Shell Oil Company. He traveled to Kenya later in the same year. He worked with RAF. He enjoyed it. Although, while in the desert, the plane crashed before they even started to fight. Afterwards, he flew to Syria and Greece. The Royal Air Force (RAF) sent Roald to Washington, D.C. In the capital of the United States of America, that is where he met C.S. Forester, a writer. In 1953, he married Patricia Neal after they met in New York City. They had five children. They were named Olivia Dahl, Tessa Dahl, Theo Dahl, Ophelia Dahl, and Lucy Dahl. In his stroller, Theo was hit by a taxi. He eventually suffered from multiple head injuries. Fortunately, baby Theo recovered. In 1961 his first book  James and the Giant Peach was published. In 1962 some unfortunate tragedy occurred. His seven-year-old daughter Olivia died of complications from the measles. After her death, it was very hard for Roald to write. In 1964 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was published. With Lucy in her stomach, Patricia suffered three strokes. Eventually, she got better. Roald Dahl wrote much more such as Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The Magic Finger, The Twits, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Matilda. Matilda was published in 1988. On November 23, 1990 sadly passed away of a rare blood disease. He will never be forgotten.

Bill Murray's Life

Bill Murray was born William James Murray on September 21, 1950 in Wilmette, Illinois. He is the fifth of nine children to Edward and Lucille Murray. Bill and most of his siblings worked as caddies, which paid his tuition to Loyola Academy, a Jesuit school. He played sports and did some acting while in Loyola, but in his own words, he said was screwed off, as a metaphor. He enrolled at Regis University in Denver, Colorado to study pre-med but dropped out after being arrested for marijuana possession. He then joined the National Lampoon Radio Hour with fellow members Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner,and John Belushi. However, while Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, and John Belushi became the original actresses and actors in the 1975 American late-night live television sketch comedy, Saturday Night Live, he joined Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell, which also premiered in 1975. After the show was cancelled, he later got the opportunity to join Saturday Night Live. He was an actor and soundtrack in Lost in Translation (2003), and acted in Groundhog Day (1993) and Ghostbusters (1984). He is still living.

Robin Gibb's Life

Robin Hugh Gibb was born on December 22, 1949 in Douglas, United Kingdom, about thirty minutes before his twin brother Maurice Gibb. His parents, Barbara and Hugh Gibb, were both musicians. Barbara sang and Hugh was a drummer and bandleader. Gibb had four siblings, older brother and sister, Lesley and Barry Gibb, twin Maurice, and younger brother Andy Gibb. The Gibb family moved for some time to Manchester, England before emigrating to Australia in 1958. During his childhood, Maurice, Andy, and Robin began a band which went by several names, but finally settled on The Bee Gees. It was in Australia where they first tasted success, topping the charts there in 1965 with Spicks and Specks. In 1966 they relocated back to the UK and landed a recording contract with Polydor. Chart success followed in the United States and the UK. In the late 1960s, tensions arose in the band. Robin briefly left to pursue a solo career but the group reunited and continued to become more successful, including switching to a more disco tone. In  1977 The Bee Gees wrote and produced five songs for the soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever. The film was a hit and the soundtrack album went on to become one of the biggest selling of all time, elevating the band to superstar group status. Robin and the rest of the group also became known for penning hit records for other song artists such as Dolly Parton, Barbra Streisand, Kenny Rogers, and Diana Ross. In 2003 Maurice Gibb died. In 2011 it was announced that Robin was suffering with cancer. After a battle with the disease, Gibb died on May 20, 2012. His only surviving sibling is his younger brother, Andy Gibb. He was 62 at the time of his death.

Ozzy Osbourne's Life

Ozzy Osbourne was born John Michael Osbourne on December 3, 1948 in Birmingham, United Kingdom. After Osbourne left school and had odd occupations, he ended up in a band with Geezer Butler. this band then split leading Ozzy and Butler to join Tony Iommi and Bill Ward in a new group that went under several names (including Earth) that ended up being called Black Sabbath after a song of the same name that appeared on their first album (released 1969/1970). He recorded many more albums with Black Sabbath despite the decline of his relationship with Tony Iommi, which after several break-ups led him to being fired from the band in 1979. After a short time, he launched a solo career with a line up behind him that varied immensely from album to album and tour to tour. During the 1980s he was treated several times for alcoholism and was sued twice for suicide of some of his young fan (cleared completely). Following his No More Tears album, he declared his world tour for the last time. In 1991 on his last date, he reformed briefly on stage with Black Sabbath for three songs. However a much talked about reformation tour fell through and Ozzy seemed in retirement. His bassist (Mike Inez) joined Alice in Chains and his lead guitarist (Zakk Wylde) made his own band, Pride and Glory. Now however he recorded a new album and he has said to intend to tour. The album came in Summer 1995 and tour happened to be right after. Geezer Butler has now quit Black Sabbath again, and rejoined Osbourne (Ozzy played bass guitar for him on tour during the mid to late 1980s) and the group was able to perform in the next album. He is currently married to Sharon Osbourne and is still alive.

Arnold Schwartzenegger's Life

Arnold Alois Schwartzenegger was born on July 30, 1947 in Thal, Austria. While growing up in a small, isolated village in Austria, he turned to bodybuilding as his ticket to a better life. Prior to that he served a mandatory for one year in the Austrian military (which began in 1965). After conquering the world as arguably the greatest bodybuilder ever lived. He migrated to the United States of America to make his name in motion pictures. Hampered by his impossible name and thick accent, success eluded him for plenty of years. It wasn't until he found the tailor-made role of Conan that he truly came into his own as a performer. A succession of over-the-top movies made him an international box office star. By alternating violent action movies with lighter, comedic fare, he has solidified his position as most popular -if not most popular- TV star ever. Arnold Schwartzenegger served as thirty-eighth Governor of California from November 17, 2003 to January 3, 2011. Schwartzenegger was currently married to Maria Shriver until the two divorced in 2011. Their marriage was about fifteen years long.

Steven Spielberg's Life

Steven Allan Spielberg was born on December 18, 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He enrolled in California State University Long Beach, but then dropped out to pursue his entertainment career. He built notoriety as an uncredited assistant editor on the classic western Wagon Train (1957). Among Spielberg's early directing efforts were Battle Squad (1961), which combined World War II footage with footage of an airplane on the ground that he make you believe is moving. He also directed Escape to Nowhere (1961) which featured children as World War II soldiers, including Anne Spielberg, his sister. He directed The Last Gun (1959), a western. All of these films Steven Spielberg directed were brief. The next couple of years, Spielberg directed a couple of movies that would portend his future occupation in directing. He directed an unfinished film called Slipstream (1957) starring Lana Antonova. Spielberg happens to still be living today at the age of sixty-five. He is currently married to Kate Capshaw and was formerly married to Amy Irving.

Davy Jones' Life

David Thomas Jones was born on December 30, 1945 in Manchester, United Kingdom. He left home to become a jockey. While he was an apprentice, he was encouraged to go into acting. From that moment, he acted in Coronation Street (1960) and The Pickwick Papers (1952) before landing the role of The Artful Dodger in Oliver! which took him to America's Broadway where he was discovered by Ward Sylvester and brought to L.A. From that moment, he was given a role in the 1966 television show, The Monkees, in which he made fifty-eight television episodes, nine albums, one television special, and a movie before calling its cancellation in the early 1970s. In the mid-1970s, Davy, as he was nicknamed, rejoined Monkee Micky Dolenz and songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart to make an album and touring. Jones had gone on to perform in more plays, including The Real Live Brady Bunch and Oliver! again. Davy Jones died of a heart attack at age sixty-six on February 29, 2012.

Danny DeVito's Life

Daniel Michael "Danny" DeVito was born on November 17, 1944 in Asbury Park, New Jersey. His father, Danny DeVito Sr, was a small business owner whose ventures included a dry cleaning shop, a dairy outlet, a diner, and a pool hall. His mother, Julia, was a homemaker. When Danny was growing up in Asbury Park, Danny Sr. and Julia sent him to private schools. He attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel grammar school and Oratory Prep School. Following DeVito's graduation in 1962, he took an occupation as a cosmetician at his sister's beauty salon. One year later, he enrolled in New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts so he could learn more about cosmetology. While at the academy, he fell in love with acting and decided to further pursue an acting. During his time, he met another aspiring actor, Moichael Douglas, at the National Playwrights Conference in Waterford, CT. The two actors later went on to collaborate on numerous projects. Soon after, he met Rhea Perlman. They then married on January 28, 1982 and have two children. DeVito acted in Romancing the Stone (1984), Ruthless People (1986),  Throw Momma from the Train (1987), and much more. In 1996, DeVito and his wife Rhea Perlman starred together in Matilda as Matilda's parents, Harry and Zinnia Wormwood. Mara Wilson from Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) starred as Matilda. The rest of the stars were Embeth Davidtz, Pamela "Pam" Ferris, and Brian Levinson. DeVito and Perlman are still married and are still living.

Muhammad Ali's Life

Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay on January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. When he was twelve years old, somebody stole his bike. He then moved on to learn boxing. In 1964 he changed his name from Cassius Marcellus Clay to Muhammad Ali. He beat more champions and top contenders than any heavyweight champ in the world. He beat heavyweight kings Sonny Liston, Floyd Patterson, Ernie Terrell, Jimmy Ellis, Ken Norton, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, and Leon Spinks. He defeated light heavyweight champions Archie Moore and Bob Foster. Muhammad Ali defeated European heavyweight champs Henry Cooper, Karl Mildenberger, Jurgen Blin, Joe Bugner, Richard Dunn, Jean-Pierre Coopman, and Alfredo Evangelista. He defeated English and Commonwealth king Brian London. All of Ali's defeats were by heavyweight champions. On January 14, 2012, ESPN announced Muhammad Ali's seventieth birthday, which was celebrated on January 17, 2012. Muhammad Ali is still living today.

Alex Trebek's Life

Alex Trebek was born George Alexander Trebek on July 22, 1940 in Sudbury, Ontario. He was raised in Sudbury as well. Trebek graduated from the University of Ottawa with a degree in Philosophy. After he made his decision to become a newscaster, he joined the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company) Canada's premier network in 1961. While he was working he helped organize national news and covered a variety of special events for CBC's radio and television divisions receiving high praise as a broadcaster who retained his poise and composure in the toughest place. In 1966, he became a Canadian game show host on the 1965 game show, Reach for the Top and stayed in the game show for the first seven years until he migrated to the U.S. to host his very first game show in the country called The Wizard of Odds in 1973 on NBC (National Broadcasting Company). Prior to be selected as the host of the 1984 game show Jeopardy! for syndication, he went back to NBC to host a different version of the 1987 game show "Classic Concentration" which was cancelled in 1991. Classic Concentration was Alex's second hit in his almost thirty-year career. It was cancelled because NBC stopped making game shows for daytime TV. On May 17, 2002, Jeopardy! celebrated its four thousandth episode. Trebek is still living today.

Regis Philbin's Life

Regis Philbin was born Regis Francis Xavier Philbin on August 25, 1931 in New York City, New York. He is a TV-talk show host, game show host, singer, author, and a TV personality. He was his parents' only child, growing up in The Bronx, New York. Later, he served in the Navy. After he moved to California, Regis got a show called That Regis Philbin Show in 1964 on KGTV. In 1970 Philbin hosted A.M. Los Angeles on KABC-TV. With his presence, he brought the talk show to Number One in L.A. On A.M. Los Angeles, Sarah Purcell was his co-host, followed by Cyndy Garvey as his second co-host. Cyndy was paired with Philbin also on The Morning Show until Garvey left. He was then paired with Kathie Lee Gifford. They were on LIVE! with Kelly along with Kelly Ripa in 1988. Gifford left the show, leaving the show called Live with Regis until a permanent replacement could be spotted. During his search for a new replacement, Philbin won a Daytime Emmy Award. Kelly Ripa was chosen that same year and then the show became Live with Regis and Kelly. The pairing was successful. In 2002, his 1999 game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was cancelled. That game show returned the same year, although Regis was replaced by Meredith Vieira. Philbin is still living.

Wolfgang A. Mozart's Life

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a phenomenal composer. He was born on January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria. He lived in Austria his whole life. His parents were Leopold and Anna Maria Mozart. His sister, Maria Anna "Nannerl" also played music, same with his dad. Wolfgang started playing music when he was only three! When he was five in 1761, he wrote his first piece of music, Menuett in F. The next year in 1762, the Mozart family traveled to the capital of Austria, Vienna. In Vienna, Wolfgang and Nannerl played for the royal family. The emperor called Wolfgang "a little magician." The empress rewarded the children with beautiful new clothes. For the next three years, the Mozart played for royalty all over Europe. The Mozarts returned home in 1766. When Wolfgang was fourteen, he had written an opera and many other pieces of music. As a teenager, Mozart wrote music for the archbishop of Salzburg, Austria. At age twenty-three, Wolfgang played the organ for the orchestra of the archbishop. But before he played the organ, his mother passed away in 1778. Mozart was twenty-two at the time of his mother's passing. Wolfgang married Constanze Weber in 1782. The next year in 1783, the Mozarts had a baby boy. Soon after, Wolfgang and Constanze traveled to Salzburg and left their son with a nanny. While they were away, the baby died. Wolfgang and Constanze Mozart had five other children after that. Although, three of the children died. Only two children, Karl Mozart and Franz Mozart, survived. The Mozarts were popular, but didn't work for money. In fact, they were poor. They couldn't afford to keep their apartment. They moved to one place and then another. In 1786, Mozart wrote The Marriage of Figaro. The opera is a famous one, but Wolfgang did not receive a lot of money. In 1787, his father, Leopold Mozart, died. In 1791, Mozart wrote The Magic Flute, a famous opera. It is the story ofa prince and princess who learn the difference between the good and evil. Also in 1791, Wolfgang wrote a largely unfinished requiem to honor a person who has died. Wolfgang died on December 5, 1791 when he did not even finish half of his requiem. He was buried in a mass grave.

Barack Obama's Life

Barack Hussein Obama II was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father, Barack Obama Sr. was born in Kenya and his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was born in Wichita, Kansas. His parents met and married when they were students at the University of Hawaii. Their marriage ended two years later and his mother remarried before the Obamas moved to Jakarta, Indonesia. He attended school in Indonesia until he was ten in 1971. He moved back to Hawaii where he lived with his maternal grandparents where he enrolled in Punahou Academy. After graduated from high school in 1979 and attended Occidental College in Los Angeles and transferred in Columbia University. He graduated in 1983. He moved to Chicago, Illinois to work as a community organizer in the Roseland community and in public housing on the South Side. He moved to Boston, Massachusetts to attend Harvard Law School and he graduated in with honors in 1991. The next year in 1992 he married Michelle Robinson and their two daughters are named Malia and Sasha Obama. Obama returned to Illinois to work as a civil rights lawyer and he taught at the University of Chicago. In 1996 he was elected to the Illinois State Senate representing the Southside and Hyde Park where FDR was born. Eight years later, he became the third African-American to be elected to the U.S. Senate. In 2007 he announced his candidacy for President of the United States. On November 4, 2008 he won against Senator of Arizona John McCain and became the first African-American to be elected President. Note: Obama became President on January 20, 2009 and the Vice President is Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden.

George W. Bush's Life

George Walker Bush was born on July 6, 1946 in New Haven, Connecticut to future President George Herbert Walker Bush and First Lady Barbara Pierce Bush. He grew in Houston, Texas where he attended private schools. He received a bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1968 and then he served as an F-102 fighter pilot in the Texas Air National Guard. He enrolled in Harvard Business School in 1975 and earned a Master of Business Administration degree. Two years later in 1977 George married Laura Welch. They have twin daughters. George bought the Texas Rangers baseball franchise in 1989 by forming a partnership with a group of investors. He served as general manager and partner of the Texas Ranger baseball team until he was elected as Governor of Texas in 1994. Six years later he was elected President of the United States in 2001 against Incumbent Vice President Albert Arnold "Al" Gore. During his first term (2001-2005) the terrorist attacked on September 11, 2001. He created the Department of Homeland Security to help government agencies work together to protect Americans. The United States military led an international force that invaded Afghanistan and removed the oppressive Taliban government. George also ordered the invasion of Iraq which removed Saddam Hussein and established a democratic government. He was re-elected to a second term in 2004. He returned to his ranch in Crawford, Texas in 2009. He will build his Presidential library at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Note: Bush was President from 2001 to 2009 and the Vice President was Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney.

Bill Clinton's Life

William Jefferson Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe IV on August 19, 1946 in Hope, Arkansas. His mother married Roger Clinton, so his name was changed to William Jefferson Clinton. He moved to Washington, D.C. to attend Georgetown University. In 1968 he won a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University in Oxford. He received a law degree from Yale University in 1973. Bill Clinton married Hillary Rodham in 1975 and they have one daughter named Chelsea. He taught at the University of Arkansas. In 1976 Clinton was elected Arkansas Attorney General. In 1978 he ran for Governor of Arkansas and won. He lost his bid for a second term but he regained the office four years later and served until he won the 1992 presidential race against incumbent George Bush. As President of the United States, Clinton reduced the national debt. He promoted international trade and convinced Congress to pass the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the US, Canada, and Mexico. Bill was a proponent for an expanded NATO. He won the re-election bid in 1996. He retired in 2001 after serving two terms as President of the United States. His wife, Hillary Clinton ran for president in 2008 but lost to Barack Obama, so Obama appointed Hillary to be Secretary of State. Note: Clinton was President from 1993 to 2001 and the Vice President was Albert Arnold "Al" Gore.

George H.W. Bush's Life

George Herbert Walker Bush was born on June 12, 1924 in Milton, Massachusetts. He was the son of Prescott Bush. He attended private schools in Connecticut and Philips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. In 1942, he served in the Navy as a pilot during World War II and received the Distinguished Flying Cross after being shot down over the Pacific in 1944. George Bush married Barbara Pierce in 1945 and together they had six children. One of his daughters died of leukemia at age four. His oldest son, George W. Bush, became Governor of Texas and one of his other sons became Governor of Florida. In 1948 he graduated from Yale University. He was elected to Congress in 1966. In 1974 he was appointed by President Ford as the U.S. liaison officer to the People's Republic of China. Bush was Vice President of the United States for eight years while Ronald Wilson Reagan was Presient of the United States for those of the eight years. George was inaugurated as President on January 20, 1989 after winning the 1988 presidential election. Bush supported democratization in the Soviet Union, which dissolved in 1991, and in Eastern Europe. He raised taxes to combat budget deficits. His popularity diminished in late 1991 due to the economic recession. He lost the re-election bid to Bill Clinton. George Bush and his wife are still living in Texas. Note: Bush was President from 1989 to 1993 and the Vice President was James Danforth "Dan" Quayle.

Ronald Reagan's Life

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois. He attended public schools and enrolled in Eureka College in Illinois, where he studied economics and sociology. After graduating in 1932, he worked as a radio announcer in Iowa. In 1937 he started his career as a actor. He has appeared in over 50 movies in his twenty-seven year career. Ronald Reagan married actress Jane Wyman in 1940 and together they had a daughter and adopted a son. They married until 1949 when they divorced. So far, Ronald is the only President to have one of his marriages end in a divorce. All the rest, either the President died or the wife died. Ronald Reagan married Nancy Davis in 1952 and together they had two children as well as Reagan and Wyman. Ronald ran for Governor of California in 1967 and won. He was inaugurated President of the United States on January 20, 1981 after defeating Jimmy Carter in November, 1980. He ran for President of the United States in1984 and won. He served two terms as President. He returned to Bel Air, California in 1989. Five years later and ten years before his death, Reagan suffered from Alzheimer's disease in 1994. He died in Bel Air, California on June 5, 2004 at 93 years and 120 days, only forty-five days less than Gerald Ford. Note: Reagan was President from 1981 to 1989 and the Vice President was George H.W. Bush.

Jimmy Carter's Life

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter was born on October 1, 1924 in Plains, Georgia. Carter grew up on a peanut farm. He left home to attend the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland where he studied nuclear physics and graduated in 1946. That same year, Jimmy Carter married Eleanor Rosalynn Smith. He served in the Navy for seven years and returned home to run the family business. Jimmy served on the school board and educational advisory boards. He was a strong advocate for Civil Rights. In 1962 he was elected to the U.S. Senate. He served one term in the Senate. He ran for Governor of Georgia and won. Jimmy was nominated by the Democrats to run for President of the United States against Gerald Ford in 1976 and he won. As President he established diplomatic ties with China and helped to write the Camp David Accords; as peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. He helped negotiate the Salt II treaty with Russia. During his administration Carter was criticized for the poor economy. In 1979, a group of Iranian took the staff of the U.S. Embassy hostage. Efforts to negotiate the release of the fifty-two hostages in Iran consumed the later half of his term. Carter was not successful and this was perceived as weakness and made him unpopular. Jimmy was defeated by Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential election. He was only fifty-six when he left office in 1981. After his administration, Carter started the Carter Center to introduce democracy throughout the world. He won the Nobel Prize in 2002. He is the only President to win the Nobel Prize after his term as President. He is still living today. Note: Carter was President from 1977 through 1981 and the Vice President was Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale.

Gerald Ford's Life

Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr. on July 14, 1913 in Omaha, Nebraska. He was his parents' first and only child. He moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan with his mother when his parents divorced. In 1916, his mother married Gerald Rudolph Ford. The little Ford's name was not legally changed until 1935. He was a popular student and athlete- he played football in high school and college at the University of Michigan. Gerald then went on to law school and he was admitted to the bar. He joined the Navy in 1942 to fight in World War II. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander and remained on active duty until 1946. After World War II, he ran for a seat in Congress and won. He spent twenty-five years in the House of Representatives. Gerald Ford married Elizabeth Ann "Betty" Bloomer in 1948 and together they had four children. In 1973, after the resignation of Vice President of the United States Spiro Theodore Agnew, Richard Nixon asked Ford to be Vice President. Although eight months later on August 9, 1974, Nixon resigned from office and Ford was inaugurated President of the United States that same day. That was the reason Ford is the only President of the United States and Vice President of the United States who was not elected to any of those offices. He did not serve a full term because of that mishap and because in the 1976 presidential election, he lost to Jimmy Carter. Gerald retired to Rancho Mirage, California and he died on December 26, 2006. He is now known as the oldest President to live because he died at 93 years and 165 days. Note: Ford was President from 1974 to 1977 and the Vice President was Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller.

Richard M. Nixon's Life

Richard Milhous Nixon was born on January 9, 1913 in Yorba Linda, California. His family moved to Whittier, California where he and his five brothers attended public school and worked at his father's store. He enrolled in Whittier College when he was 17. In 1934, Nixon received a scholarship to Duke University Law School in North Carolina. After he graduated, he tried to get a job with a law firm in New York but he got turned down every time and returned to Whittier where he met and married Thelma Catherine "Pat" Ryan. Nixon joined the Navy in 1942. Eleven years later Vice President of the United States under President of the United States Dwight David Eisenhower. Eisenhower was inaugurated in January, 1953. Nixon worked as an active leader during his eight years as Vice President when Dwight was sick. Nixon ran for President against John F. Kennedy and lost. Two years later, he ran for Governor of California and lost to that as well. Six years in 1968 he ran for President and won. On August 9, 1974 Nixon resigned while in office because of the Watergate scandal. Richard's administration is known as one of the worst ones in history. He retired to San Clemente, California. His wife died on June 22, 1993. "Tricky Dick" died exactly ten months later on April 22, 1994. Note: Nixon was President from 1969 through 1974 and the Vice Presidents were Spiro Theodore Agnew and Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr.

Lyndon Johnson's Life

Lyndon Baines Johnson was born on August 27, 1908 in Stonewall, Texas. He attended public schools and after realizing how hard it was to find a job without a college degree, enrolled in Southwest Texas State Teachers College. He graduated in 1930. He taught for one year in the Texas schools and left to enter politics. Lyndon Johnson married Claudia Alta Taylor aka Lady Bird Johnson. Together they had two children named Lynda and Luci. Johnson was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1937. He joined the Navy when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and he fought in the Pacific theater. He returned from the war in July, 1942 when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered all members of Congress, in military service, to return their duties. In 1948 he was elected to the United States Senate and became the Democratic majority leader in 1954. He was elected Vice President of the United States when John Fitzgerald Kennedy won the presidential race on November 9, 1963 against Nixon. Lyndon took the oath of office as President of the United States ninty-nine minutes after John F. Kennedy was shot on November 22, 1963. Johnson ran for President in 1964 and fortunately he won. He passed Kennedy's bills on civil rights, poverty and conservation. During his administration he was known for creating the "Great Society" that promoted equal rights for all and provided health insurance to the elderly. Lyndon decided not to run for President of the United States in 1968 and retired to move back to San Antonio, Texas. He suffered two heart attacks in his retirement and his last one proved fatal. He died of the fatal heart attack in San Antonio on January 22, 1973. Note: Johnson was President from 1963 through 1969 and the Vice President was Hubert Horatio Humphrey.

John F. Kennedy's Life

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts, the second of nine children. He was born to parents Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald and Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Sr. He attended private schools and enrolled in Princeton University. During the summer of his freshman year he traveled to London, England where he fell ill with jaundice. It took him two years for him to fully recover. He continued his studied at Harvard University and graduated with honors in 1940. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, John signed up with the Navy and became a Naval Commander. He had to leave the Navy in 1944 after he received malaria. Kennedy was elected to the Congress in 1946 in a Boston district and then he re-elected two times. In 1953, he was elected Senator of Massachusetts after defeating Henry Cabot Lodge. Also in 1953 John "Jack" Kennedy married Jacqueline Lee "Jackie" Bouvier on September 12 and together they had four children named Arabella Kennedy (August 12, 1956-August 12, 1956), Caroline Kennedy (November 27, 1957), John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr. (November 25, 1960-July 16, 1999), and Patrick Bouvier Kennedy (August 7, 1963-August 9, 1963.) He was inaugurated as President of the United States on January 20, 1961 after defeating Richard Milhous Nixon on November 9, 1960. He did not get a chance to serve a full term because on November 22, 1963 he was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. Oswald did not go to court or to jail because of his own death two days later on November 24, 1963. He was shot by Jack Ruby. Note: Kennedy was President from 1961 to 1963 and the Vice President was Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Dwight Eisenhower's Life

Dwight David Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890 in Denison, Texas.  His family moved to Abilene, Kansas where his father bought a house on a 10-acre farm. He worked on the farm with his four brothers. His nickname was "Ike" which was what everybody called him. In high school he worked nights at the creamery where he studied his lessons. He was accepted to West Point and graduated in 1915. The next year in 1916, Dwight Eisenhower married Marie Geneva "Mamie" Doud. General Douglas MacArthur asked Dwight to assist him in planning the defense of the Philippines. In 1942 Eisenhower became the commanding General of the American Forces in the European theater and the commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces in North Africa, commanding the British and American troops. One year later he was promoted to full (four star) general. On June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, he was promoted to General of the Army. On May 7, 1945 the German Army surrendered. For the next three years Dwight was Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army until he was named President of Columbia University. He was nominated by the Republicans to run for President in 1952 and he won. While he was President, in 1955 he suffered a severe heart attack and another stroke. He ran for President in 1956 and won. He served two terms as President of the United States. During his administration he was engaged in foreign policy, which ended the Korean War, and negotiating with China, Cuba, and Russia. He retired in  1961 and he died in Washington, D.C. at Walter Reed Hospital on March 28, 1969. Note: Eisenhower was President form 1953 through 1961 and the Vice President was Richard Milhous Nixon.

Harry S Truman's Life

Harry Truman was born on May 8, 1884 in Lamar, Missouri. He had no middle name, so he just added the S to his name with no period. He was the first President to play the piano. He woke up at 5:00AM and practiced for at least two hours a day before school time. He was the only twentieth-century to not receive a college degree, meaning he did not attend college. Harry Truman married Elizabeth Virginia "Bess" Wallace in 1919 and they had one child named Margaret. He was a senator from Missouri for ten years before he was inaugurated Vice President of the States on January 20, 1945. He was Vice President until April 12, 1945 when Franklin Delano Roosevelt died in office that day. Harry Truman was in the 1948 presidential race and won. He declined to serve another term. While he was in office in 1945, on September 2, he used the atomic bomb when the United States attacked Japan in Hiroshima and Nagasaki which caused Japan to surrender and soon ended World War II. He returned to Independence, Missouri where he devoted his time to the Truman Library. He retired for 19 years before he died in Independence on December 26, 1972 at age eighty-eight. Note: Truman was President from 1945 through 1953 and the Vice President was Alben William Barkley.

Franklin D. Roosevelt's Life

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882 in Hyde Park, New York. He was his parents' only child. Him and Theodore Roosevelt were fifth cousins. His parents took about seven weeks to agree on Franklin's name. He was tutored by a governess and he took frequent trips to Europe. He graduated in 1904 from Harvard University and attended Columbia University Law School in New York. He married a distant cousin, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, in 1905 and together they had six children. He passed the bar exam and joined a law firm on Wall Street. He ran for the New York Senate and won when he was twenty-eight years old. President Wilson appointed Franklin assistant Secretary of the Navy three years later in 1913. FDR traveled to Canada when he developed polio in 1921 at age thirty-nine. After he contracted polio, it left him paralyzed waist and lower for the rest of his life. In 1929 he ran for Governor of New York and he won. He served one term as Governor. Roosevelt was in the 1932 presidential race along with former President Herbert Hoover. Roosevelt won in a landslide victory. In 1936 he ran for a second term as President and won. The economy had reached the prosperity levels of the 1920s by then. In 1940 he ran for a third term and won. He is the only President to served up to three terms. He became President in 1941. On December 7 of 1941 the United States Naval fleet was attacked by the Japanese Air Force. The United States declared war with Japan. On December 8, Roosevelt declared war with Italy and on December 11 war with Germany. Roosevelt was President during the Great Depression. The United States was embroiled in World War II in part of Roosevelt's president. Franklin was elected to a fourth term in 1944 and began his fourth term on January 20, 1945. Roosevelt died of a stroke in Georgia at age sixty-three three months later on April 12, 1945. Note: FDR was President from 1933 to 1945 and the Vice Presidents were John Nance Garner, Henry Agard Wallace and Harry Truman.

Herbert Hoover's Life

Herbert Clark Hoover was born on August 10, 1874 in West Branch, Iowa. His father, Jessie Clark Hoover, died of typhoid fever when Herbert was six and his mother, Hulda Randall (Minthorn) Hoover died of pneumonia when Herbert was nine years old. Both of his parents were parents were Quakers. He moved to Newberg, Oregon and lived with his uncle, Dr. Henry Minthorn, where he attended a Quaker academy. When he was sixteen years old he enrolled in Leland Stanford,a new university in Palo Alto, California. He graduated in 1895. Herbert Hoover married Lou Henry in 1899 and together they had two sons, Herbert Hoover, Jr. and Allan Hoover. In 1927, a British company hired him to manage its gold in Australia where he lived for two. He was the only President to be a millionaire, so he was rich enough to retire when he was only forty years old. In 1928 Calvin Coolidge decided not to run for another full term so Hoover was in the presidential race with New York governor Alfred E. Smith. Herbert won in a landslide victory. As President of the United States, he tried to improve the standards of radio broadcasting, aviation and housing. Seven months into his administration, the stock market crashed which leaded to the Great Depression. He established a few programs to combat the crisis, but he oppose aid through federal bureaucracy, so Hoover didn't provide enough relief and he was defeated in the 1932 election to FDR. Hoover died on October 20, 1964 in New York City a the age of 90.

Calvin Coolidge's Life

John Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4, 1872, the 96th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, in Plymouth, Vermont. He attended school in a one-room schoolhouse. He was raised on a farm and enrolled in Black River Academy in Ludlow, Vermont when he was 13. He was admitted to Amherst College in Massachusetts after graduation in 1895, he decided to become a lawyer. He took a job in a law office in Northampton, Massachusetts. While working he studied for the bar exam  and was admitted to the bar in 1897. he opened his own office in the same city, Northampton. In 1898, he was elected city councilman. Calvin Coolidge married Grace Goodhue in 1905 and together they had two boys, Calvin and John. In 1907, Coolidge was elected to the Massachusetts legislature. Three years later he was voted Mayor of Northampton. In 1912, he was a Massachusetts state senator. He was electeda Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in 1916. Calvin was elected governor in 1917. He was elected Vice President of the United States in 1920. Three years later, Warren Harding died on August 2, 1923 and Coolidge was sworn in as President of the United States on August 3. The next year in 1924, he ran for a full term and won. He served his full term and left office in 1929. Calvin Coolidge returned to his two sons and wife and lived a quiet life until he died of a stroke on January 5, 1933 in Northampton at age sixty. Note: Coolidge was President from 1923 through 1929 and the Vice President was Charles Gates Dawes. 

Warren G. Harding's Life

Warren Gamaliel Harding was born on November 2, 1865 in Corsica, Ohio. He was the twenty-ninth President. He helped his father on their farm and attended school. He was the oldest of eight of the Harding children and his father was a doctor for a living. At the age of 14, he enrolled in Ohio Central College in Iberia, Ohio. He graduated and took a job as a schoolteacher but quit after one year of teaching. He moved to Marion and studied law, but did not become a lawyer because he didn't like law. He borrowed some money from his dad and with two friends bought a newspaper, the Marion Star. His partners left the business and he ran it himself.  Warren Harding married a widow named Florence Kling de Wolfe in 1891 who helped him make his newspapers more successful. In 1899 the Grand Old Party (GOP) nominated Harding to the State Senate and won. In 1903 he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and kept that occupation for three years. He returned to Marion to work on the newspaper. In 1910, he ran for Governor of Ohio and lost unfortunately. In 1914 he was elected to the United States Senate and served for one full term. The GOP nominated Harding for President of the United States and in the 1920 election he won. During his administration the first nonstop transcontinental airplane flight was made and the first commercial radio broadcast took place. Harding established a budget system for the federal government but hsi administration was marred by the Tea Pot Dome scandal; federal oil reserves were illegally rented to private businesses. In June, 1923 President Harding and First Lady Florence Harding took a trip around the United States. He became ill from food poisoning. Soon he developed pneumonia and died on August 2, 1923. Note: Harding was President from 1921 through 1923 and the Vice President was Calvin Coolidge.

Woodrow Wilson's Life

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born on December 28, 1856 in Staunton, Virginia. He was the twenty-eighth President. He attended private schools in Georgia and South Carolina. He attended Davidson College in North Carolina and then enrolled in Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. He studied law at the University of Virginia and then he went on to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland where he graduated with a PhD in philosophy in 1886. In 1887, Woodrow Wilson married Ellen Axson and together they had three children. He taught in Bryn Mawr College in PA and at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Wilson later taught constitutional law at Princeton University and after that, he became President of Princeton University and served from 1902 to 1910. In 1911, he became Governor of New Jersey. The Democrats nominated Woodrow for President of the United States and won. He became President in 1913 during World War I. During his two-term administration, 1,000,000 automobiles were produced. As President, Woodrow reduced tariffs and created an income tax. The US became involved in World War I when Germany ambushed Lusitania. The armistice was signed on November 11, 1918 also during his presidency. Wilson was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1919. He left office in 1921 after serving two terms as US President. He passed away of a stroke while on a speaking tour in the capital to promote the League of Nations on February 3, 1924 at age sixty-seven. Note: Wilson was President from 1913 to 1921 and the Vice President was Thomas Riley Marshall.

William Taft's Life

William Howard Taft was born on September 15, 1857 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father was a judge and William was a great student. He entered Yale College in 1874 and graduated 4 years later in 1878. In 1881 he was appointed assistant prosecutor in a county court. He went on to become an official in the Bureau of the Internal Revenue Service. He did not like his occupation in the Bureau and resigned from it. William Taft married Helen Herron in 1886 and together they had three kids, Robert, Helen, and Charles. The following year, 1887, Taft was named a judge in the Ohio Superior Court. In 1890, President Benjamin Harrison offered William the post of Solicitor General of the US, the second largest job of the Department of Justice. In 1892 he resigned to become a federal circuit judge. President William McKinley picked Bill to become head of a special commission to overlook the government of the Philippines. In 1904, President Teddy Roosevelt appointed Taft Secretary of War. He was nominated by the Republicans for President and won. He helped establish the sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which allows Congress to collect income tax. He served one term and in 1912 he went against former President Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. He lost to Wilson. He was appointed Chief Justice in 1921 by President Warren Gamaliel Harding. His administrative work as a Supreme Court justice is considered his greatest contribution to public. He retired nine years later due to poor health and died the same year on March 8, 1930. Note: Taft was President from 1909 to 1913 and the Vice President was James Schoolcraft Sherman.

Theodore Roosevelt's Life

Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858 in New York City, New York. He graduated from Harvard College. Theodore Roosevelt married Alice Hathaway Lee on his birthday in 1880. He enrolled in Columbia University to study law. He was elected to the New York State Assembly and abandoned his studies. In his third term in 1884 his mother and wife died on Valentine's Day. Alice died two days after she had a baby girl. He served until the end of his term and moved to the Dakota Territory to his ranch on the Little Missouri River. He married Edith Carow in 1886 and they had five children together. He accepted an appointment to the United States Civil Service Commission serving for six years until he was appointed President of the New York City board of police commissioners. He resigned from the Board of Police to become assistant Secretary of the Navy. A year later during the Spanish-American War, he organized and then commanded the first United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment. In 1899, he was elected Governor of New York. He was inaugurated Vice President of the United States on March 4, 1901 after Garret Augustus Hobart died in office as Vice President on November 21, 1899. He was also inaugurated as President of the United States on September 14, 1901 after William McKinley was shot that day in Buffalo, New York. Roosevelt received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906. Theodore invented the teddy bear after his nickname, "Teddy." After he left office on March 4, 1909, he traveled to Africa, stayed there for one year, and returned to New York to organize the Bull Moose Party to run for President in 1912. However, in the election, he lost to Woodrow Wilson. He wrote his autobiography and then he traveled to South America in 1913. Theodore Roosevelt died in his sleep in Long Island, New York on January 6, 1919 at age sixty. Note: Roosevelt was President from 1901 to 1909 and the Vice President was Charles Warren Fairbanks.

William McKinley's Life

William McKinley was born on January 29, 1843 in Niles, Ohio. He went to school in Poland, Ohio and then went to Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania.When William was 17, he left college before he graduated and started to teach in a rural school. The Civil War broke out in 1861. McKinley was the last Chief Executive (president) to fight in the Civil War. The Civil War ended on April 9, 1865 after Robert Edward Lee was defeated by Ulysses Grant. After the Civil War, McKinley returned to Ohio and studied law. William McKinley married Ida Saxton in 1871. They had two daughters that died before they were two years old. His wife suffered from epilepsy and needed special attention. In 1876 McKinley was elected to the United States House of Representatives where he served for seventeen years. In 1892, William was elected 39th Governor of Ohio. He served one term as Governor and then the Republican party nominated McKinley as President. He won and he was a popular president. He was popular for being the fifth President to die in office and the third to be assassinated. He guided the nation during the Spanish-American War that lasted one hundred days. He was elected to serve a second in November 1900. He did not know that his second term would only last six and a half months. William was shot by Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, New York and there, the President died on September 14, 1901. He was buried in Canton, Ohio. Note: McKinley was President from 1897 to 1901 and the Vice Presidents were Garret A. Hobart and Teddy Roosevelt.

Benjamin Harrison's Life

Benjamin Harrison was born on August 20, 1833 in North Bend, Ohio, the grandson of William Henry Harrison, ninth President of the United States. He attended school in a log cabin and at the age of fourteen, he attended the Farmer's College near Cincinnati. Three years later, he transferred to Miami University at Oxford, Ohio. Harrison moved on to study law and he was admitted to the bar. Benjamin Harrison married Caroline Scott in 1853 and they had two children. Harrison joined the Union Army in 1862 during the Civil War and earned the position of general. After the war ended on April 9, 1865 he returned to his law practice. In 1876 Ben ran unsuccessfully in an election for Governor of Indiana. In 1881 Harrison was elected to the Senate and served the six-year term. The Republicans nominated Harrison as President of the United States against Grover Cleveland and Ben won. During his presidency Montana, Idaho, Washington state, North Dakota, and South Dakota were admitted to the Union. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was passed in 1890 as well as American women being allowed to vote in Wyoming. Basketball was invented by James Naismith in 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts. The first gasoline-powered automobile was built in 1893 by the Duryea brothers. But before that, Caroline Scott Harrison died in 1892 before the election where Harrison was defeated by former President Grover Cleveland who served again as President. After Caroline's death, Ben returned to Indianapolis, Indiana where he married Mary Scott Lord Dimmick in 1896 and they had one child together. Benjamin Harrison died on March 13, 1901 at age sixty-seven. Note: Harrison was President from 1889 through 1893 and the Vice President was Levi Parsons Morton.

Grover Cleveland's Life

Stephen Grover Cleveland was born on March 18, 1837 in Caldwell, New Jersey. His family moved to Fayetteville, New York where he was educated in a one room schoolhouse. In 1850, they moved to Clinton, New York where he attended a Liberal Institute. At age eighteen he visited an uncle in Buffalo, New York to help him on his farm in return for getting him a job in a law office. Four years later when he was twenty-two, Cleveland was admitted to the bar. He passed the bar exam and in 1863 Grover became assistant district attorney of Erie County for 2 years. His honesty and fairness led to his election as sheriff of Erie County also for two years. In 1882, Grover was elected Mayor of Buffalo. He held that job for two years until the Democrats nominated him for Governor of New York and he won. In 1884, Cleveland was nominated President of the United States against Chester Alan Arthur and Cleveland won the election. Grover Cleveland married Frances Clara Folsom on June 2, 1886 during a White House ceremony. He lost the 1888 re-election bid to Benjamin Harrison, the grandson of William Henry Harrison, ninth President of the United States. Benjamin Harrison was President for four years before he lost his re-election bid to Grover Cleveland. Cleveland is the only President so far that has served two nonconsecutive terms as President. He served one term after Harrison's term. He was not elected a second term because he did not support the expansion of the U.S. into Hawaii and Cuba. His party turned to William Jennings Bryan, who lost to William McKinley in 1896. Grover returned home to Princeton, New Jersey where he lived until he died on June 24, 1908 at age seventy-one. Note: Cleveland was President from 1885 through 1889 and the Vice President was Thomas Andrews Hendricks until Hendricks died in November, 1885. He was elected President again from 1893 through 1897 and the Vice President that time was Adlai Ewing Stevenson I.

Chester A. Arthur's Life

Chester Alan Arthur was born on October 5, 1829 in Fairfield, Vermont. His father was a teacher and minister. Arthur entered Union College in Schnectady, New York at age fifteen. He taught school to pay for his education and graduated with honors in 1848. He then went on to study law while continuing to teach to support himself until 1853 when he went to New York City to start his career as a lawyer. He took on two very controversial and groundbreaking cases. His law firm gained freedom for eight runaway slaves. He also represented Lizzie Jennings in a segregation case. She was told not to ride on a New York City streetcar because she was black; she was awarded five hundred dollars in damages. The court decision stated that Negroes had the same rights to ride on a New York City streetcar as anyone else. Chester A. Arthur married Ellen Lewis Herndon in 1859. During the Civil War Arthur was appointed quartermaster general of New York state, supplying food, guns, and tents to to the soldiers. Fifteen years later, Chester Arthur was elected Vice President under James Abram Garfield. In 1881, James A. Garfield was assassinated on September 19. The next day on September 20, 1881, Chester succeeded former President Garfield as the twenty-first President of the U.S. He only served a partial term because in 1884, Chester was not re-elected as President. He was the last President to not have a Vice President. After he left office, he had a kidney disease. He died twenty months later on November 18, 1886. Note: Chester Alan Arthur was President from 1881 to 1885 and since he was completing Garfield's term, there was no Vice President.

James A. Garfield's Life

James Abram Garfield was born on November 19, 1831 in Orange, Ohio. He was the last President to be born in a log cabin. His father died when he was two; he had three brothers and three sisters. Since they had to work to support their family, they could only attend school 3 months out of the whole year. He loved to read. At age sixteen Garfield left home and joined the Navy in Cleveland, Ohio. He had to go back home when he contracted malaria. He attended Williams College in Massachusetts. He graduated and became a teacher at Hiram College where he was once a student. On eyear later he became President of Hiram College. James A. Garfield married Lucretia Rudolph in 1858 and they had five children. He was elected to the Ohio Senate in 1859 where he served for two years. Garfield volunteered for the Union Army in 1861. He fought bravely in the Civil War battles and Shiloh and Chickamauga. He resigned in 1863 with the rank of major general, when President Abraham Lincoln asked him to serve in Congress. In December 1863, at age thirty-two, he entered the United State House of Representatives. He served as a legislator for seventeen years until he was elected 20th President of the United States in 1881. Garfield was the first President to use a telephone. During his administration that happened to be only six and a half months, the great railroad expansion reached Texas. On July 2, 1881 James Garfield was assassinated by Charles Julius Guiteau while waiting for a train. Although he survived the inital wound of the bullet, it could not be removed and he died of complications two months and seventeen days later on September 19, 1881. Note: Garfield was President from March 4, 1881 through September 19, 1881 and the Vice President was Chester Alan Arthur.

Rutherford B. Hayes' Life

Rutherford Birchard Hayes was born on October 4, 1822 in Delaware, Ohio. His father died when he was born. He was educated at home and attended private schools. In 1838 he enrolled Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. He graduated in 1842 and went on to Harvard Law School. He graduated in 1845 and was admitted to the Ohio bar. Rutherford B. Hayes married Lucy Webb in 1852 and they had eight children. In 1857 he was elected City Solicitor of Cincinnati. When the Civil War he joined the Union Army. He was elected to Congress in 1864 but refused to leave the battlefield. Haves advanced to the rank of brevetted major general. He was reelected to Congress in 1866 and served only one year because he was elected Governor of Ohio in 1867. He remained in office until 1871 when his term ended. He returned to Spiegel Grove, Ohio where he practiced law and worked to develop public libraries. He ran again for Governor of Ohio in 1876 and won. He was nominated Republican candidate for President against Samuel B. Tilden that same year. Hayes won in a close election that was disputed for four months and ultimately decided by an electoral commission. During his administration Hayes removed all federal troops from the South ending Reconstruction- the period after the Civil War during which the southern states were reorganized and made part of the Union once again. He tried to prevent civil service reform. He did not want to serve a second term and returned to his farm in Spiegel Grove, Ohio where he devoted his time to philanthropic activities. He died in Fremont, Ohio on January 17, 1893. Note: Hayes was President form 1877 through 1881 and the Vice president was William Almon Wheeler.

Ulysses S. Grant's Life

Ulysses Simpson Grant was born on April 27, 1822 in Point Pleasant, Ohio. He was born to a pioneer family and he was agile with horses. He attended schools in Georgetown, Ohio. In 1839 he received an appointed to West Point Academy, he graduated as a first lieutenant but he did not like the Army and wanted to join the cavalry but there were no openings. He fought in the Mexican-American War from 1846 until 1848 when the war ended. Ulysses S. Grant married Julia Dent and they had four kids. In 1854 he resigned from the Army. He tried farming and real estate and failed. He became a partner in a family leather business in Galena, Illinois. He returned to join the military when the Civil War broke out in 1861 as colonel of the 21st Illinois Volunteer Regiment. He captured Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1863 giving the Union control of the Mississippi River. Lincoln promoted him to lieutenant general and commander of the Union armies. Grant accepted Lee's surrender on April 9, 1865 in Appomattox, Virginia. The Congress appointed Grant full General- the first man to reach this rank since George Washington. He served briefly as secretary of war. Grant was a popular leader after the Civil War. He was elected President in 1869 and served two terms. During his administration the 15th Amendment was ratified giving African Americans the right to vote. The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell during Grant's presidency. Grant went home to McGregor, New York where he left the White House to write his memoirs. He died on July 23, 1885, one week after he completed his memoirs. Note: Ulysses Simpson Grant was President from 1869 through 1877 and the Vice Presidents were Schuyler Colfax and Henry Wilson.

Andrew Johnson's Life

Andrew Johnson was born on December 29, 1808 in Raleigh, North Carolina. His father died when Andrew was three, so his mother and big brother worked to support themselves. He did not attend a day of school and at age seventeen he was sent to apprentice with a tailor where he learned to read. In 1826 his family moved to Greenville, Tennessee. The next year Andrew Johnson married Eliza McCardle; she taught him how to write. He opened his own tailor shop where young men in the town frequently stopped by to debate politics and public affairs. He was elected mayor of Greenville in 1830 and served three years. Johnson was elected to the Tennessee legislature for two nonconsecutive two terms: from 1835-1837 and from 1839-1843. He served in the House of Representatives for ten years until he was elected Governor of Tennessee in 1853. After serving one term he was voted into office as a U.S. senator until he was elected Military Governor of Tennessee during the Civil War. In 1864 Johnson was elected Vice President under President Abraham Lincoln. He took the oath of office as President on April 15, 1865 after Lincoln was assassinated. In 1868 he was impeached by the United States House of Representatives, accused of breaking the law by dismissing the Secretary of Law, Edwin Stanton. He was acquitted in the impeachment trial in 1869. He finished his term as President and returned to Tennessee. He was elected to the Senate in 1874 and died of a stroke a year later on July 31, 1875. Note: Andrew Johnson was President from 1865 through 1869 and since he was completing Lincoln's term, there was no Vice President.

Abraham Lincoln's Life

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Hardin County, Kentucky. His parents were uneducated pioneers. His father, Thomas Lincoln, thought there were better opportunities elsewhere, so the Lincolns migrated 100 miles to Indiana. Lincoln helped his father, who was a farmer. His mother died when he was nine and his father remarried. He attended school and loved to read, although because of his high-pitched voice he said the word "there" "thar" and said the word "get" "git." He was a master of the English language by reading every book he could hold. He practiced law in Springfield, Illinois and he was very popular in the court circuit. Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd in 1842 and they had four boys. Edward Lincoln, the family's second child, died when he was four. Lincoln was elected to the United States House of Representatives. He ran for the Senate and lost. He was elected President of the United States and guided the nation during the Civil War. It was his aim to preserve the union of the states. The Emancipation Proclamation was one of the most important features of his presidency. It did not free the slaves, but it gave all Americans the same rights under the Constitution. The Gettysburg Address was another important document. More than 60,000 soldiers died in a three-day-battle in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; he tried to bring the nation together in their grief. William, the family's third child, died in the White House when he was 11. Lincoln was elected to a second term in 1864 and in the Civil War ended in Appomattox, Virginia when Confederate General Robert Edward Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses Simpson Grant who was later the eighteenth President of the United States on April 9, 1865. The peace treaty was signed on April 11, 1865. Three days later Lincoln was shot in the head by John Wilkes Booth of Virginia, at Ford's Theater while watching a play. He died from the gunshot wound the next day on April 15, 1865 in Petersen's boarding house across from the theater. Note: Abraham Lincoln was President from 1861 thorugh 1865 and the Vice Presidents were Hannibal Hamlin and Andrew Johnson.

James Buchanan's Life

James Buchanan was born on April 23, 1791 in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania. He was the oldest of nine children. They went to school in Mercersburg, where his father owned a general store. He attended Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and law school in Lancaster. He was a successful lawyer who interrupted his career to join a volunteer cavalry company to fight in the War of 1812. Buchanan returned to his home to his law practice in Lancaster. He ran for Congress and served ten years. President Andrew Jackson asked him to serve as minister to Russia; he negotiated the first trade agreement between Russia and the United States. Buchanan was elected to the Senate in 1835 where he served ten years. President James Knox Polk appointed Buchanan Secretary of State. He helped to arrange the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with Mexico in 1848, by which the United States purchased the region extending west from Texas to the Pacific Ocean. He wrote the Oregon Treaty of 1846 that settled the Northwestern boundary between Canada and the United States. He ran for President in 1852 and lost. He served as minister to Great Britain. Buchanan ran for President by the Democrats and won. James Buchanan never married anyone, so his niece Harriet Lane performed the duties of First Lady of the United States. Buchanan ran for a second term and was defeated by Lincoln. Before he left office, seven states seceded from the Union. He returned to Lancaster, Pennsylvania where he lived until he died on June 1, 1868. Note: James Buchanan was President from 1857 through 1861 and the Vice President was John Cabell Breckinridge.

Franklin Pierce's Life

Franklin Pierce was born on November 23, 1804 in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire. He attended a local school. His father was a general in the Revolutionary War and served two terms as Governor. In 1820 Pierce enrolled in Bowdoin University in Brunswick, Maine, where he met a life long friend, Nathaniel Hawthorne. He went on to study law and was admitted to the bar in 1827. Pierce was elected to the state legislature where he served for five years. Franklin Pierce married Jane Means Appleton, they had three children. Two children died in infancy and only Benjamin survived. Pierce was elected to two terms in Congress and then to the United States Senate in 1832. He only served four years; he resigned his post because his wife did not like life in Washington, D.C. They returned to Concord, New Hampshire where he practiced law. In 1847 Pierce enlisted as a private in the Concord Light Infantry in the Mexican War; he rose to brigadier general of volunteers commanding 2,500 men in Mexico. He could no longer fight after he suffered a leg wound from a fall from his horse. Pierce returned to practice law in Concord. The Democrats nominated Pierce to run for President and won the election easily. On January 6, The Pierces were in a train wreck that killed their son Benjamin who was 11. Mrs. Pierce who was brokenhearted lived in seclusion in the White House the entire term. During his administration, Pierce bought parts of Arizona and New Mexico from Mexico. The Pierces toured after his term was over and returned to live in Concord, New Hampshire where he died on October 8, 1869. Note: Franklin Pierce was President from 1853 through 1857 and the Vice President was William Rufus De Vane King, but he died six weeks and three days later.

Millard Fillmore's Life

Millard Fillmore was born on January 7, 1800 in Locke, New York. He spent most of his early life on a farm and attended a local school. He was eager to improve his education and jumped at the chance to study law with County Judge Walter Wood as an apprentice at age 19. In 1823 Fillmore passed the bar exam and began his law practice in East Aurora, New York. Millard Fillmore married Abigail Powers and they had two children. The family moved to Buffalo where Fillmore was a very successful lawyer. In 1828 he was elected to the state legislature. In 1832 Fillmore was elected the U.S. House of Representatives where he served for ten years. In 1842 he ran for Governor of New York, but lost. Fillmore was elected Vice President under Zachary Taylor and he was sworn in as President on July 10, 1850 when Zachary Taylor died unexpectedly. During his administration the first practical fire engine was developed in Ohio.  There was a lot of tension between the North and the South over slavery. Many slaves were fleeing to the North. He addressed the slavery issue through the compromise of 1850 and signed the Fugitive Slave Law. Fillmore tried to prevent the Civil War by urging the northern and southern states to agree on a settlement.  He was not nominated for a second term because neither expansionist nor slaveholders were pleased by his policies. He returned to Buffalo, New York; 26 days later Abigail died. Fillmore ran again for President in 1856 but lost unsuccessfully. He married Caroline Carmichael McIntosh; together they did not have any children. He participated in many civic activties in his community until his death on March 8, 1874. Note: Millard Fillmore was President from 1850 through 1853 and since he was completing Taylor's term, there was no Vice President.

Zachary Taylor's Life

Zachary Taylor was born on November 24, 1784 in Orange County, Virginia. His father was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Revolutionary War. His only formal education was at a small schoolhouse. His parents supplemented his education by teaching him at home. He worked on his family's plantation until he left home in 1801 to join the 7th Infantry Regiment. Zachary Taylor married Margaret Mackall Smith in 1810; they had six children, two daughters died as infants. Taylor fought in the War of 1812 rising in rank to major by 1816 in the 3rd Infantry Regiment. In 1832 Taylor fought in the Black Hawk War to drive the Sac Indians out of Illinois. In 1837 he recieved an honorary commission as brigadier general after he defeated the Seminole Indians in Florida during the Second Seminole War. He was not able to defeat the Indians in 1840; he was relieved of his command and assigned to fight the Indians in the Southwest. He fought on the Texas-Louisiana border; his army defeated the Mexicans at Palo Alto. His final victory was in the battle of Buena Vista where his troops were outnumbered 4-1. He was promoted to major general. The Whig party nominated Taylor for President in 1848 and won. Taylor was a soldier most of his life; he never held political office until he was elected President of the United States. As President he tried to use the Army to prevent states from withdrawing from the United States. He was President for only one year. On Independence Day he participated in the ceremonies laying the cornerstone of the Washington monument. He had a stomach ailment later that day and he died there on July 9, 1850. Note: Zachary Taylor was President from 1849 through 1850 and the Vice President was Millard Fillmore.

James K. Polk's Life

James Knox Polk was born on November 2, 1795 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. His family move to Duck River, Tennessee when he was a child. Polk was so weak to work on the farm that his parents focused on developing his mind. He was taught by tutors and sent to private schools. In 1815 he enrolled in the University of North Carolina. He then went on to study law and he was admitted to the bar. Polk became a popular lawyer and he was elected to the state legislature. On January 1, 1824 James Knox Polk married Sarah Childress; they did not have any children.  Polk was elected to the United States legislature in 1825. He served seven terms until he was elected Governor of Tennessee. He was Governor for one term. He was nominated by the Democrats to run for President. He won and pledged to serve only one term. During Polk's administration , gold was discovered in 1848 in California and thousands of people migrated west.  The Department of the Interior was established. Wisconsin, Iowa, and Texas became states. Polk negotiated the Minnesota and Oregon boundaries with Britain, making them federal territories.  He fought and won in the Mexican War (1846-1848) and annexed much of the southwest and California. Polk was known for working long hours, beginning his duties at daybreak and working at his desk until midnight. He was away from the White House only 37 days during his four-year term. He promised voters he would only serve one term as President. He died three months after he left office at his home in Nashville, Tennessee on June 15, 1849. Note: James Knox Polk was President from 1845 thorugh 1849 and the Vice President was George Mifflin Dallas.

John Tyler's Life

John Tyler was born on March 29, 1790 in Charles City County, Virginia on Greenway Plantation. His mother died when he was seven; his father was a judge who was later elected Governor of Virginia. In 1802, Tyler attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He graduated from the college when he was only seventeen years old. He went on to study law and in 1811 he began to practice law in Richmond. That same year he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates and served for five years. John Tyler married Letitia Christian; together they had eight children. In 1816 Tyler was elected to the United States House of Representatives where he served for five years. He went on to served in the House of Delegates from 1823 through 1825. He was elected Governor of Virginia in 1825 and served for two years until he was elected to the U.S. Senate. He served in the Senate for nine years. Tyler was elected Vice President when William Henry Harrison won the presidential election in 1841. One month later, after Harrison died of pneumonia at age 68, Tyler took the presidential oath of office as President. His wife died while he was President and he married Julia Gardiner. He was the first president to wed while in office. Together they had seven children. President Tyler was instrumental in the annexation of Texas in 1845 and he established the United States Weather Bureau. As president he established trade between China and the United States. He left office in 1845 and he moved to his plantation, Sherwood Forest, where he lived with his family until he died on January 18, 1862. Note: John Tyler was President from 1841 through 1845 and since he was completing Harrison's term there was no Vice President.

William Henry Harrison's Life

William Henry Harrison was born on February 9, 1773 in Charles City County, Virginia. His father was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and a friend of George Washington. Harrison was taught at home until he attended Hampden-Sidney College in Virginia. He joined the Army one year later- his father died the same year. In 1795 William Henry Harrison married Anna Symmes; they had ten children. Harrison was appointed Secretary of the Northwest Territory by President John Adams and served as the delegate to Congress from that region. He was appointed Governor of the Indiana territory where he served for twelve years. He took millions of acres of land from Native Americans by battle or by treaty. And he recaptured Detroit  from the British in the War of 1812.  Harrison defeated the Shawnee Indians and destroyed their settlement. Harrison defeated the British and Indians at the Battle of the Thames during the War of 1812. He moved his family to North Bend, Ohio. In 1816 he was elected to Congress and in 1819 he was elected to the state senate. At the end of that term in 1825 he was elected to the United States Senate. President John Quincy Adams appointed Harrison minister to Colombia in 1828. He offended Colombian President Simon Bolivar and he was forced to leave the country in 1829. Harrison returned to his farm in North Bend. He was nominated by the Whig Party to run for President against Martin Van Buren, and lost. Harrison ran for President in 1841 and won. He died of pneumonia only 32 days after his Inauguration on April 4, 1841. Note: William Henry Harrison was President from March 4, 1841 to April 4, 1841 and the Vice President was John Tyler.

Martin Van Buren's Life

Martin Van Buren was born on December 5, 1782 in Kinderhook, New York. He was the first President to be born under the American flag. His father owned a tavern that also served as a polling place so he heard politics discussed at an early age. He was a student at the Kinderhook Academy until he took a job in a local law office when he was 13. At age 18 he had a job in a law office in New York City. When he was 21 he returned home to practice law; he was a very successful lawyer. Martin Van Buren married Hannah Hoes, his childhood sweetheart, in 1807; together they had four sons.  Van Buren was elected to the Senate in 1812. He interrupted his second term in the Senate to run for governor. Van Buren served as governor of New York for ten weeks  and then moved to Washington to perform the duties of Secretary of State in 1829. He was elected to the office of Vice President under Andrew Jackson in 1832 after John Caldwell Calhoun resigned while in office. Van Buren was elected President in 1836, the first President to be elected as a member of the Democratic Party. He became President on March 4, 1837- the same year the U.S. entered a major depression. During his administration he instituted the Department of the Treasury. to protect government funds due to the economic depression caused by investment in land speculation that was not backed by gold of silver. He was not reelected in 1840 because he did not believe the government should help people who had lost their jobs. Van Buren tried again for the presidency in 1848 as a Free Soil candidate but lost to Zachary Taylor. Martin Van Buren died in Kinderhook, New York on July 24, 1862. Note: Martin Van Buren was President from 1837 through 1841 and the Vice President was Richard Mentor Johnson.

 

Andrew Jackson's Life

Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767 in a log cabin in the Waxhaw settlement of South Carolina, a few days after his father's death. He lived with his mother and two older brothers. He attended school enough to learn how to read. Jackson left home to fight in the Revolutionary War when he was 13; he was taken prisoner by a British officer. Shortly after he was released, his mother died. He practiced law in Salisbury, North Carolina and passed the bar exam. He traveled west with a group of pioneers and ended up in Tennessee where he married Rachel Donelson Robards in 1794; the first President to marry a divorced woman. They adopted a son in 1808. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1796 and served one year in the Senate as the first representative from Tennessee. He had to return home when his farm failed. In 1802 he was was elected major general of the Tennessee militia.  In 1814 he defeated the Creek Indians during the War of 1812; he was promoted to major general of the United States Army.  In 1815 he successfully fought off the British attack on New Orleans protecting the Louisiana Territory. Andrew Jackson was elected Governor of the new territory of Florida in 1821. He served two years and returned to his home in Tennessee where he was elected to the Senate. Jackson ran for President in 1824 but lost to John Quincy Adams. In 1829 he was elected President of the United States and served two terms. He returned to his home in Nashville where he lived until he died on June 8, 1845. Note: Andrew Jackson was President from 1829 through 1837 and the Vice Presidents were John Caldwell Calhoun and Martin Van Buren.

John Quincy Adams' Life

John Quincy Adams was born on July 11, 1767 in Quincy, Massachusetts. He attended a village school until the headmaster went off to war. He was the son of President John Adams and First Lady Abigail Adams. His father signed the Declaration of Independence when John Quincy was eight. His parents were determined to see him elected President.  He was tutored by his mother, attended schools in Paris, and attended the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. John Quincy Adams began a diary that he wrote in for over sixty years. He returned from the Netherlands in 1785 to attend Harvard University. He graduated in 1787 and started to practice law. At age 28 he was appointed minister to the Netherlands by George Washington. John Quincy Adams married Louisa Johnson and they had three sons. He served as the minister to Prussia in 1797 through 1801, the time his father was President of the United States. He often traveled with his father. Adams was elected to the United States Senate in 1803 where he served until 1808. In 1809 President James Madison appointed Adams the first American minister to Russia. In 1812 war broke out between the United States and Great Britain. Adams served on the delegation that brought about the Peace Treaty of Ghent in 1814. He later became minister to Great Britain until 1817 when President James Monroe appointed Adams Secretary of State.  He negotiated the Transcontinental Treaty of 1819 with Spain, which gave the United States access to the Pacific Ocean. Adams ran for President in 1825 and won; he served one term. Adams was frustrated by the politics of the presidency, because he believed he was the people's representative. He ran for Congress in 1831 where he was an active legislator. He died two days after he collapsed on the floor of the House of Representatives on February 23, 1848. Note; John Quincy Adams was President from 1825 through 1829 and the Vice President was John Caldwell Calhoun.

James Monroe's Life

James Monroe was born on April 28, 1758 in Westmoreland County, Virginia.  He left home to attend William and Mary College when he was 16. He joined the Third Virginia Regiment two years later to fight in the American Revolution. In 1782 he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. In 1783 he became a member of the Congress of the Confederation and served until 1786. James Monroe married Elizabeth Kortright. In 1790 he was elected Us senator and served for four years, until he was appointed minister to France by George Washington. He retired from that position and two years later he was elected Governor of Virginia. In 1803 Monroe went on a diplomatic mission to France to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase.  President Jefferson appointed Monroe minister to Great Britain and a year later minister to Spain. In 1810 he was elected to the Virginia Legislature. He served one year and left when he was elected Governor again in 1811. The same year he was appointed Secretary of State and also served under James Madison as the Secretary of War between 1814-1815. In 1817 Monroe was elected President of the United States. During his administration he bought Florida from Spain and established the Canadian border. He authored the Monroe doctrine that warned nations in Europe not to take over or set up colonies in North America and South America. His presidency was known as the Era of Good Feeling; a period of national optimism, expansion and growth. He left office in 1825 after serving two terms. He moved to Loudon County, Virginia with his wife. After she died in 1830 Monroe moved to New York City with his daughter until he died a year later on July 4, 1831, the fifty-fifth approval of the Declaration. His death followed those of John Adam's and Thomas Jefferson by exactly five years. He was the last President to die on the fourth of July. Note: James Monroe was President from 1817 through 1825 and the Vice President was Daniel Tompkins.

James Madison's Life

James Madison was born on March 15, 1751 in Port Conway, Virginia. He grew on a family-owned tobacco farm called Montpelier, where his mother and grandmother taught him how to read and write.  When he turned 11 he went off to a boarding school in King and Queen County, Virginia. He loved to read. He attended Princeton University and graduated.  In 1776, when he was 25,  he was elected to the Virginia Revolutionary Convention. He served in the Virginia legislature for one year before he lost in the re-election bid. He was appointed a member of the Governor's Council, which managed the Revolutionary War efforts. In 1784 he was elected to the Virginia legislature. He married Dolley Payne Todd; they did not have any children. Madison attended the Annapolis Convention as a delegate and then the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, in 1787. His understanding of government made him the leader in creating the Constitution;  he advocated a republican form of government in which  the people are sovereign but rule through elected representatives. In 1789 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives at the end of his term in 1801, he was appointed Secretary of State by Thomas Jefferson. In 1809 he was elected President of the United States. At this time British and French were at war.  After Britain attacked American ships, Madison reluctantly led our nation into war against Britain.  During the War of 1812 the White House was burned by the British. Madison left Washington D.C. in 1817 after serving two terms as President. He lived on his farm developing new methods of agriculture until he died on June 28, 1836. Note: James Madison was President from 1809 through 1817 and the Vice Presidents were George Clinton and Elbridge Gerry.

Thomas Jefferson's Life

Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 in Albemarle County, Virginia. He was born into a wealthy family and tutored at home. When he was 17 he attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia; he learned to speak French, Italian, and Spanish. Jefferson studied law for five years; he was admitted to the bar when he was 24 and practiced law until the American Revolution closed the courts. On January 1, 1772 Thomas Jefferson married Martha Wayles Skelton. Together they had six children, but four died in infancy and two daughters lived to adulthood. In 1776, when he was 33, he was chosen to write the Declaration of Independence. The same year he became a member of the United State House of Delegates. He introduced  the Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom in 1779 and it which passed seven years later. Jefferson served two terms as Governor of Virginia. In 1782 his wife died; he never remarried.  He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1783 where he presented the concept of the dollar and decimal system of money.  In 1785 George Washington appointed Jefferson, Ben Franklin's successor as minister to France; he lived there for five years. Jefferson left France at the start of the French Revolution in 1789. Jefferson ran against Adams to the presidency and lost by three electoral votes. He became the Vice President. In 1800 he ran against Adams again and won the office of President; he served two terms. As President he bought the Louisiana Territory for $15,000,000 doubling the size of the United States. In 1819 he chartered the University of Virginia. He died at his home, Monticello, on July 4, 1826, the same day as the death of President John Adams, the fiftieth approval of the Declaration of Independence. Note: Thomas Jefferson was President from 1801 through 1809 and the Vice Presidents were Aaron Burr and George Clinton.

John Adams' Life

John Adams was born on October 30, 1735 in Quincy, Massachusetts. He attended school at a local academy. When he was 16 he attended Harvard University and graduated in 1755. Adams began practicing law three years later. He married Abigail Smith in 1764. Together they had four children. In 1765 Adams wrote letters in the Boston Gazette protesting the Stamp Act imposed by the British Government that would tax public newspapers, playing cards, documents, licenses, and insurance policies. Adams was elected to the Congress in 1774 and served in that capacity until 1777. He established his reputation as a champion of individual rights. He was one of the first to favor independence from Great Britain and in 1775 he recommended George Washington to be commander-in-chief of the new Continental Army. He was appointed minister to the Netherlands in 1780. he successfully arranged loan and trade agreements between France, the Netherlands, and America. Adams traveled to Paris, France in 1782  to negotiate a peace treaty with Great Britain, ending the Revolutionary War. He served as minister to Great Britain in 1785 until 1788 when he was elected Vice President.  Adams served as Vice President for two terms until he was elected President of the United States in 1797 at the age of 61. John and Abigail Adams were the first ones to occupy the White House. It was undecorated and littered with building debris. Adams served as President for only one term. He lost the re-election bid to Thomas Jefferson. He returned to Quincy, Massachusetts where he enjoyed reading and writing essays. He died there on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth approval of the Declaration of Independence. Note: John Adams was President from 1797 through 1801 and the Vice President was Thomas Jefferson.

George Washington's Life

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. His father was a prosperous farmer and his grandparents emigrated from England to Virginia in the 1650s.  Washington did not have formal schooling and started his first job as a surveyor when he was 16 in 1748. He inherited Mount Vernon at age 21 when his Uncle Lawrence died. At the same time Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia sent Washington on a mission to keep the French out o the Ohio Valley. In 1755 he became commander-in-chief of the Virginia forces and led them to victory in the French and Indian War. George Washington married Martha Custis, a young and wealthy widow. They did not have any children, but they had two stepchildren from Washington's wife's first marriage. In 1774 he served as a delegate to the first Continental Congress. He was unanimously elected commander-in-chief of the American forces. He helped write the peace treaty ending the American Revolution that was signed in 1783. George Washington was named president of the Federal Convention in 1783 and in 1789 he was unanimously elected President at age 57. As the first president, he had to decide how to carry out the duties of the executive branch of government. Washington felt this position should be devoid of politics and represent all of the Americans. The first Cabinet was made up of Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State; Edmund Randolf, Attorney General; Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, and Henry Knox, Secretary of War. Washington stayed in office for two terms and declined to serve a third term. He died at his home of a strep infection at his home, Mount Vernon, on December 14, 1799, the end of the eighteenth century. Note: George Washington was President from 1789 through 1797 and the Vice President was John Adams.