The US Presidential History Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
3 min
The US Presidential History Quiz
Image: © CORBIS

About This Quiz

How much do you know about the 43 men who have led the United States? Take this quiz to find out.
Who had the shortest presidency?
William Henry Harrison
Rutherford B. Hayes
William McKinley
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia in 1841, only 31 days into his term.

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Who was the first president to die in office?
Warren G. Harding
James Garfield
William Henry Harrison
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Again, William Henry Harrison has this distinction.

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Who was the only unmarried president?
John Tyler
James Buchanan
Franklin Pierce
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

James Buchanan was the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor.

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Which of the following is NOT the name of a presidential scandal?
the Petticoat affair
the Teapot Dome scandal
the War Chest episode
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Petticoat affair and Teapot Dome scandal were real. The War Chest episode, not so much.

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There are two father/son sets who have been president. The Bushes are one. Which is the other?
John Adams and John Quincy Adams
William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison
Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Second President John Adams was the father of sixth President John Quincy Adams. William Henry Harrison was Benjamin Harrison's grandfather, and the Roosevelts were fifth cousins.

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George H.W. Bush and this former president were the only two sitting vice presidents to be elected president.
Grover Cleveland
Martin Van Buren
Herbert Hoover
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Many vice presidents have moved up after the death of the president, but Van Buren and Bush were the only two to run for election while they were vice president.

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Who was the only president to have gotten divorced?
Richard Nixon
Ronald Reagan
Gerald Ford
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Reagan was married to Jane Wyman before he married Nancy Reagan.

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Which president had the most children?
Zachary Taylor
George Washington
John Tyler
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

John Tyler had 15 kids over 45 years.

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The only two presidents to have been impeached are Bill Clinton and who else?
Martin Van Buren
Richard Nixon
Andrew Johnson
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Clinton and Johnson were both impeached by the House but acquitted by the Senate. Nixon resigned before he could be impeached.

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Why was Andrew Johnson impeached?
violation of the Tenure of Office Act
defying the Treaty of Paris
being a Radical Republican
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Johnson wasn't on board with his party's plans for Reconstruction, and he blocked the enforcement of some congressional acts. The last straw was when he tried to dismiss his secretary of war, in open defiance of the Tenure of Office Act, which required congressional approval for dismissal of certain Cabinet members.

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These two presidents were second cousins.
George Washington and James Monroe
Franklin Pierce and James Polk
Zachary Taylor and James Madison
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Zachary Taylor was the 12th president, and James Madison was the fourth president.

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Who was president during the stock market crash of 1929?
Herbert Hoover
Calvin Coolidge
Warren G. Harding
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The stock market crashed only seven months after Hoover became president.

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Who was the only ex-president to become a Supreme Court justice?
Millard Fillmore
William H. Taft
James Polk
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Taft left office in 1908, and Warren G. Harding appointed him as chief justice in 1921.

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Who served nine terms as a congressional representative after his presidency?
John Quincy Adams
William H. Taft
Andrew Jackson
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

John Quincy Adams had a much more politically active post-presidency life than most, serving nine terms as a representative from Massachusetts.

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Who's the only president to hold a doctorate?
Lyndon B. Johnson
Bill Clinton
Woodrow Wilson
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Wilson held a doctorate in political science and history from Johns Hopkins University.

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Who was the youngest elected president?
Barack Obama
John F. Kennedy
Zachary Taylor
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

JFK was 43 years and 7 months old when he was inaugurated.

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Who was the youngest president to be in office?
John F. Kennedy
Theodore Roosevelt
Franklin Pierce
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Roosevelt took office at 42 years and 10 months old, but he wasn't elected — he took office after President McKinley was assassinated.

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This president was a congressman, senator, governor and vice president before he became president.
James Buchanan
Andrew Johnson
Harry Truman
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Andrew Johnson truly climbed the governmental ladder to the presidency.

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John F. Kennedy and this ex-president are the only two to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
William H. Taft
Ulysses S. Grant
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In addition to his presidential term and stint as chief justice of the Supreme Court, Taft also served as secretary of war.

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How many presidents have been assassinated in office?
two
four
six
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy were all killed in office.

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How many presidents have survived an assassination attempt while in office?
three
five
nine
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Jackson, FDR, Truman, Ford and Reagan all survived assassination attempts while in office.

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How many of those survivors were wounded in the attempt?
one
two
three
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Reagan was the only one to be wounded by a would-be assassin. He suffered a punctured lung and internal bleeding when John Hinckley Jr. shot him.

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Who was the oldest president at the time of election?
Chester A. Arthur
Benjamin Harrison
Ronald Reagan
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Reagan was 69 years old when he was elected.

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Who was the shortest president?
James Madison
Richard Nixon
Rutherford B. Hayes
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Madison stood 5 feet, 4 inches (163 centimeters) and weighed only 100 pounds (45 kilograms).

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Who was the heaviest president?
William H. Taft
Grover Cleveland
Millard Fillmore
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Taft weighed in at about 330 pounds (150 kilograms) but lost 150 of those after his presidency.

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Who was the tallest president?
Abraham Lincoln
Lyndon B. Johnson
Thomas Jefferson
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Lincoln stood 6 feet, 4 inches (193 centimeters) tall.

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These ex-presidents died on the same day.
Ulysses S. Grant and Andrew Johnson
Theodore Roosevelt and William H. Taft
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Former rivals Adams and Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

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Which president was re-elected after admitting to having had a child out of wedlock?
Grover Cleveland
Franklin Roosevelt
Thomas Jefferson
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Cleveland owned up to the scandal but claimed the child wasn't biologically his. A 2011 book alleges that Cleveland date-raped the mother 10 years before he became president.

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Who was known as "Old Rough and Ready"?
Zachary Taylor
Theodore Roosevelt
Andrew Jackson
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Andrew Jackson was "Old Hickory," Teddy Roosevelt was a Rough Rider, and Zachary Taylor was "Old Rough and Ready."

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Who was the only president to get married in the White House?
Grover Cleveland
John Tyler
Woodrow Wilson
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Tyler and Wilson both got married while in office but not at the White House. Cleveland married Frances Folsom there in 1886.

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You Got:
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© CORBIS