List of presidents of the United States Facts for Kids

The White House, where the president of the United States lives and works.

The president of the United States is the leader of the country. They are both the head of state (the symbolic leader) and the head of government (the person in charge of running the country). People in the U.S. vote for the president every four years through a system called the Electoral College.

The president leads the executive branch of the federal government. They are also the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces, meaning they are in charge of the military.

The very first president was George Washington. He was chosen by everyone in the Electoral College. As of July 17, 2025, the current president is Donald Trump, who started his second term on January 20, 2025. Since 1789, 45 different people have been president, but they have served 47 times. This is because two presidents, Grover Cleveland and Donald Trump, served two terms that were not back-to-back. Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president, and Donald Trump is the 45th and 47th president.

The shortest time anyone served as president was William Henry Harrison. He died just 31 days after taking office in 1841. The longest-serving president was Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was president for over twelve years and died early in his fourth term in 1945. He is the only president to have served more than two terms. After 1951, a rule called the Twenty-second Amendment was added to the Constitution. This rule says that a person can only be elected president twice. If someone becomes president because the previous president left office, and they serve more than two years of that term, they can only be elected once more.

Some presidents have died while in office. Four died from natural causes: William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Warren G. Harding, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Four others were assassinated: Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy. One president, Richard Nixon, resigned from office because he was facing impeachment. John Tyler was the first vice president to become president when the president left office. This set an important example for how the vice president takes over.

For most of American history, politics has involved political parties. The Constitution does not mention political parties. When the government started in 1789, there were no organized parties. Soon after the first Congress met, groups started forming around important officials like Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. George Washington was worried that political parties could divide the country. He chose not to join any party during his eight years as president. He is still the only U.S. president who was never part of a political party.

Presidents

List of presidents of the United States from 1789 – till date.
No.	Name (birth–death)	Term		Election	Vice President
1	George Washington (1732–1799)	April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797	Unaffiliated	1788–89 1792	John Adams
2	John Adams (1735–1826)	March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801	Federalist	1796	Thomas Jefferson
3	Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)	March 4, 1801 – March 4, 1809	Democratic- Republican	1800 1804	Aaron Burr George Clinton
4	James Madison (1751–1836)	March 4, 1809 – March 4, 1817	Democratic- Republican	1808 1812	George Clinton Vacant after April 20, 1812 Elbridge Gerry Vacant after November 23, 1814
5	James Monroe (1758–1831)	March 4, 1817 – March 4, 1825	Democratic- Republican	1816 1820	Daniel D. Tompkins
6	John Quincy Adams (1767–1848)	March 4, 1825 – March 4, 1829	Democratic- Republican National Republican	1824	John C. Calhoun
7	Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)	March 4, 1829 – March 4, 1837	Democratic	1828 1832	John C. Calhoun Vacant after December 28, 1832 Martin Van Buren
8	Martin Van Buren (1782–1862)	March 4, 1837 – March 4, 1841	Democratic	1836	Richard Mentor Johnson
9	William Henry Harrison (1773–1841)	March 4, 1841 – April 4, 1841	Whig	1840	John Tyler
10	John Tyler (1790–1862)	April 4, 1841 – March 4, 1845	Whig Unaffiliated	–	Vacant throughout presidency
11	James K. Polk (1795–1849)	March 4, 1845 – March 4, 1849	Democratic	1844	George M. Dallas
12	Zachary Taylor (1784–1850)	March 4, 1849 – July 9, 1850	Whig	1848	Millard Fillmore
13	Millard Fillmore (1800–1874)	July 9, 1850 – March 4, 1853	Whig	–	Vacant throughout presidency
14	Franklin Pierce (1804–1869)	March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857	Democratic	1852	William R. King Vacant after April 18, 1853
15	James Buchanan (1791–1868)	March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861	Democratic	1856	John C. Breckinridge
16	Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)	March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865	Republican National Union	1860 1864	Hannibal Hamlin Andrew Johnson
17	Andrew Johnson (1808–1875)	April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869	National Union Democratic	–	Vacant throughout presidency
18	Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885)	March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1877	Republican	1868 1872	Schuyler Colfax Henry Wilson Vacant after November 22, 1875
19	Rutherford B. Hayes (1822–1893)	March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1881	Republican	1876	William A. Wheeler
20	James A. Garfield (1831–1881)	March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881	Republican	1880	Chester A. Arthur
21	Chester A. Arthur (1829–1886)	September 19, 1881 – March 4, 1885	Republican	–	Vacant throughout presidency
22	Grover Cleveland (1837–1908)	March 4, 1885 – March 4, 1889	Democratic	1884	Thomas A. Hendricks Vacant after November 25, 1885
23	Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)	March 4, 1889 – March 4, 1893	Republican	1888	Levi P. Morton
24	Grover Cleveland (1837–1908)	March 4, 1893 – March 4, 1897	Democratic	1892	Adlai Stevenson I
25	William McKinley (1843–1901)	March 4, 1897 – September 14, 1901	Republican	1896 1900	Garret Hobart Vacant after November 21, 1899 Theodore Roosevelt
26	Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919)	September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909	Republican	– 1904	Vacant through March 4, 1905 Charles W. Fairbanks
27	William Howard Taft (1857–1930)	March 4, 1909 – March 4, 1913	Republican	1908	James S. Sherman Vacant after October 30, 1912
28	Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)	March 4, 1913 – March 4, 1921	Democratic	1912 1916	Thomas R. Marshall
29	Warren G. Harding (1865–1923)	March 4, 1921 – August 2, 1923	Republican	1920	Calvin Coolidge
30	Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)	August 2, 1923 – March 4, 1929	Republican	– 1924	Vacant through March 4, 1925 Charles G. Dawes
31	Herbert Hoover (1874–1964)	March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933	Republican	1928	Charles Curtis
32	Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)	March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945	Democratic	1932 1936 1940 1944	John Nance Garner Henry A. Wallace Harry S. Truman
33	Harry S. Truman (1884–1972)	April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1953	Democratic	– 1948	Vacant through January 20, 1949 Alben W. Barkley
34	Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969)	January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961	Republican	1952 1956	Richard Nixon
35	John F. Kennedy (1917–1963)	January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963	Democratic	1960	Lyndon B. Johnson
36	Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973)	November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969	Democratic	– 1964	Vacant through January 20, 1965 Hubert Humphrey
37	Richard Nixon (1913–1994)	January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974	Republican	1968 1972	Spiro Agnew Vacant: October 10 – December 6, 1973 Gerald Ford
38	Gerald Ford (1913–2006)	August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977	Republican	–	Vacant through December 19, 1974 Nelson Rockefeller
39	Jimmy Carter (1924–2024)	January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981	Democratic	1976	Walter Mondale
40	Ronald Reagan (1911–2004)	January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989	Republican	1980 1984	George H. W. Bush
41	George H. W. Bush (1924–2018)	January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993	Republican	1988	Dan Quayle
42	Bill Clinton (b. 1946)	January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001	Democratic	1992 1996	Al Gore
43	George W. Bush (b. 1946)	January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009	Republican	2000 2004	Dick Cheney
44	Barack Obama (b. 1961)	January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017	Democratic	2008 2012	Joe Biden
45	Donald Trump (b. 1946)	January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021	Republican	2016	Mike Pence
46	Joe Biden (b. 1942)	January 20, 2021 – January 20, 2025	Democratic	2020	Kamala Harris
47	Donald Trump (b. 1946)	January 20, 2025 – Incumbent	Republican	2024	JD Vance

List of presidents of the United States facts for kids

Presidents

See also