Vice-Presidents of the US

As you know, Kamala Harris is the 49th Vice-President of the US (while Joseph Biden is the 46th President).

Here we see pictures of all 49 Veeps:

Many of the faces would be unfamiliar, unless they went on to become President.

This helps you to keep track:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vice_presidents_of_the_United_States

Here is an expanded version of the above collage:

See the heading, which states that a woman of color

Would have been a slave until Andrew Johnson’s time (1865; he succeeded Lincoln as President)

Could not vote until Calvin Coolidge’s time as VP (1921-23)

Had to attend a segregated school until Richard Nixon’s time as VP (1953-61)

And could not have her own bank account until Spiro Agnew’s time (1969-73), when Nixon was President.

Though it should also be pointed that both of Ms Harris’s parents first came to the US in the 1950s and 60s.

Also note: Walter Mondale, who was Jimmy Carter’s deputy in 1977-81, died recently at the age of 93. Carter is the longest-lived President, who is now over 96.

The Carter-Mondale pair lived for over 40 years after their terms concluded in 1981.

Thomas Marshall, Woodrow Wilson’s deputy in 1913-21, was known for his dry sense of humour:

“Marshall was known for his quick wit and good sense of humor. On hearing of his nomination as vice president, he announced that he was not surprised, as “Indiana is the mother of Vice Presidents; home of more second-class men than any other state”. One of his favorite jokes, which he delivered in a speech before his departure for Washington, D.C., to become vice president, recounted a story of a man with two sons. One of the sons went to sea and drowned and the other was elected vice president; neither son was ever heard from again. On his election as vice president, he sent Woodrow Wilson a book, inscribed “From your only Vice”.”

The longest-lived Vice-President was John N Garner (1933-41) who lived to be almost 99. Levi Morton (1889-93) lived to be exactly 96.

Tail Piece: Walter Mondale was probably the only US Vice President to inaugurate a Winter Olympics (in 1980).

Notes from the White House-birthplaces

The US Presidency has run in an unbroken chain since 1789. Here we look at the birthplaces of all the US Presidents from Washington to Biden.

This may be useful for the state codes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_and_territory_abbreviations

Note that states joined the US at different times. After the original 13 states, the newcomers joined steadily and the last 5 to join were OK (1907), NM and AZ (1912), AK and HI (1959).

List of PresidentsDownload

Some notes:

Biden was the second President (after Buchanan) to be born in PA state. Buchanan is generally considered to be one of the worst Presidents.

If Trump had suddenly ceased to be President, Mike Pence would have been the first President to be born in Indiana state.

If this eventuality occurs now, Kamala Harris will be the second President born in California and the first from Northern California (Oakland). The only other President born in California is Richard Nixon, in Yorba Linda near Los Angeles.

There are several large states where no President has been born.

By population, these would include Florida (#3), Michigan (10), New Jersey (11), Washington (13) and Arizona (14). At the other end of the scale, #50 (Wyoming) and #48 (Alaska) have had no representatives, although Vermont (#49) does have Calvin Coolidge.

In many cases, a person may have largely grown up in a state which is not the state of his/her birth. This is more likely to happen in the US than India and most European countries.

More presidential notes

Joseph Biden, President no 46, was born on 20/11/1942. When sworn in on 20/01/2021, he was at 78+ the oldest to be sworn in as President. The previous record was held by Ronald Reagan (b. 06/02/1911) when sworn in for the second time on 20/01/1985. He was then almost 74.

The oldest President to be sworn in for the first time was Donald Trump (14/06/1946) who was 70+ when sworn in on 20/01/2016. Earlier it was Reagan who was almost 70 when sworn in on 20/01/1981.

At one time it was felt that Bernard Sanders might be elected President. Born on 08/09/1941, he is over a year older than Biden and would have set the same records.

Biden is the second Catholic President (after JFK) and the second to be born in Pennsylvania (after James Buchanan of 1857-1861), the predecessor of Abraham Lincoln. Buchanan figures quite high in the rankings of “Worst President”, though Trump may ultimately get this title. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_presidents_of_the_United_States

The US has not had a First Gentleman yet, though Bill Clinton came close to it in 2016. Now there is a Second Gentleman, who is Jewish for good measure.

Kamala Harris was born in Oakland, CA in 1964. She has a chance of becoming President in 2025 (or earlier, if Tippecanoe’s Curse reappears). She would then be the second President after Nixon to be born in CA.

The longest-lived US President and other obscure facts

On October 1, 2021 James Earl Carter Jr (born October 1, 1924) became the first US President to celebrate his 97th birthday. On March 22, 2019 he became the longest-living US President when he crossed the mark set by George Herbert Walker Bush.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter#Longevity

More about George Bush Sr here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_state_funeral_of_George_H._W._Bush

He passed one more landmark on October 17, 2019 when his marriage to Rosalynn became the longest-lasting of Presidential unions. (See update at end). They were married on July 7, 1946. They will cross the record of 73+ years of George Bush Sr (again!) which ended with Barbara’s death on April 17, 2018.

However, Rosalynn Carter (born August 18, 1927) is now 95 and has some time to go before she can overtake Bessie Truman (97, 1885-1982) as the longest-lived First Lady. In the past few years, she overtook others such as “Lady Bird” Johnson (94), Betty Ford (93) and Nancy Reagan (94).

There is, however one Vice-President who has lived longer than any President: John N Garner (98, 1868-1967, VP to Franklin Roosevelt in 1933-41).

Joseph Biden (20 Nov, 1942) is the oldest person to become President surpassing Ronald Reagan’s 73+ at the start of his second term in 1985. Donald Trump (born Jun 14, 1946) was so far the oldest to become President for the first time at 70+, just edging out Reagan’s accession in 1981.

Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth II (born April 21, 1926) continues to break longevity records as the longest-lived British monarch (93+) with the longest reign (67+ years). Her consort Prince Philip died about two months before what would have been his 100th birthday.

As pointed out earlier here, Queen Elizabeth’s reign has seen 14 US presidents (Truman to Biden) and 15 British PMs (including Harold Wilson twice). It is likely that she will see the successors of the present incumbents.

Also: “Significant events have included her coronation in 1953 and the celebrations of her Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilees in 1977, 2002, and 2012, respectively. In 2017, she became the first British monarch to reach a Sapphire Jubilee. Next is the Platinum Jubilee in 2022. She is the longest-lived and longest-reigning British monarch as well as the world’s longest-serving female head of state, oldest living monarch, longest-reigning current monarch, and the oldest and longest-serving current head of state. ”

English cricket fans will remember major Ashes victories at home in the Coronation year (1953) as well as the Silver Jubilee (1977).