Assorted Facts and Folklore

John Adams (1797-1801) and Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) both signers of the Declaration of Independence passed away on the same day. At midday on July 4, 1926 Jefferson expired; Adams died a few hours later around sunset. The day marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the famous document.

John Quincy Adams (1825-1829) without the benefit of modern home design, was in the habit of skinny dipping in the Potomac River every morning. On at least one occasion, newspaper reporters held his clothes captive until he provided the requested press conference from within the riverbank.

Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) is widely acknowledged today for his command of the language, and great skill as a speech writer. Even in his day, he had his own fan club. H.L. Menken called the Gettysburg Address "stunningly stupendous." Ralph Waldo Emerson had a similar assessment. "The weight and penetration of the many passages in his letters...are destined to a wide fame. What pregnant definitions, what unerring common sense, what foresight, and on great occasions what lofty, and more than national, what human tone. His brief speech at Gettysburg will not easily be surpassed by words at any occasion." Lincoln's own personal reading list included the King James Bible, Aesop's Fables, and Shakespeare.

Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877) in early life was very much a reluctant participant at the Military Academy, and throughout his life abhorred the ramifications of war. However, none of this did anything to diminish his success in the profession. At the conclusion of the Civil War one of the provisions Appomattox pact which he signed with Robert E. Lee was that Lee was to be held blameless for any future destruction or carnage associated with the rebellion. Within two weeks Lincoln lay dead, and the law enforcement officials of the Capital were fully intent in securing the arrest of the renowned Lee. It was only by the emphatic intercession of Grant (he promised to resign his post if Lee were detained) that Lee remained free. Alternately, Jefferson Davis had no such gentleman's agreement with Grant (translation - two years in the slammer). On his deathbed in 1895, Grant authored his memoirs, financed by Mark Twain. Some military historians judge the work on a par with Caesar's Commentaries. (As an aside, Lee was no stranger to political petigree - his wife was the grandaughter of Martha Washington.)

Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929) a.k.a. Silent Cal, apparently labored effortlessly to earn the nickname. He advised "If you don't say anything, you can't be called on to repeat it." When the Treasury Department decided to have a messenger hand deliver his first paycheck as President, Coolidge replied with measured words to the messenger: "Call again". A woman once asked him what his favorite hobby was. He replied "Holding office." On an occasion, he attended Sunday Church without his wife. She later inquired what the sermon was about. Coolidge replied that it was about sin. His wife further pressed "What did the minister have to say about sin ?" Coolidge replied "He's against it." Coolidge died in 1933 of a heart attack. Upon being told that the former president was dead, writer Dorothy Parker quipped "How can you tell?"

Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) presiding over 25% national unemployment, must be considered the most frustrated of all Presidents. On one occasion, Calvin Coolidge had stopped by to discuss fiscal and monetary policies. Coolidge in his trademark farmhouse dialect pointed out "You can't expect to see calves running in the field the day after you put the bull to the cows." Hoover replied in kind, "No, but I would expect to see some contented cows."

Harry S. Truman (1945-1953) is famous as the modern version of the America's small town boy making it to the White House. The quintessential straight shooter, he had two signs on his desk: "The buck stops here" and " "Always do right, that will gratify some people and confound the rest." There once was a famous photograph of Truman playing the piano with Hollywood siren Lauren Bacall sitting on the top of the piano. When asked about his wife Bess's thoughts about the photo, he responded "She says maybe it is time for me to quit playing the piano." Upon retirement from the White House, Truman returned to Independence Missouri and refused any endorsements or book sales.

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989), the oldest occupant of the White House, freely advertised his advanced years. At a Washington Press Club dinner in 1981 he said "I know your organization was founded by six Washington newspaperwomen in 1919. It seems like only yesterday." After quoting Thomas Jefferson's advice not to worry about one's age, Reagan added "Ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying." Once a California State Senator who was advocating birth control for teenages charged that "illegitimate births to teen-aged mothers has increased alarmingly while Reagan has been in office." The newspaper clipping was sent to Reagan and he replied back: "Thanks for sending me the clipping...I have never felt so young and virile."