Presidential Notes
Presidential Notes - Mr. President
On the afternoon of April 30, 1789, (Mount Vernon Research Collections) George Washington became the first president of the United States. Everyone on hand at Federal Hall in Lower Manhattan congratulated him, but no one knew what to call him. Clearly there was no past precedence, and the Constitution did not provide for a presidential title. After much debate that focused on many suggestions, Washington settled on the simple title, “Mr. President.” This unpretentious yet distinguished moniker, is one of many enduring contributions Washington made to the American presidency.
Although the presidents have shared the title “Mr. President,” and several have shared surnames, their given names have been as unique as the men who have held the office. Adding to this uniqueness is the fact that several presidents changed their given names.
The first president to make a name change was President Grant. He changed his name from Hiram Ulysses Grant to Ulysses Simpson Grant. President Grover Cleveland dropped his given first name, Stephen. Thomas Woodrow Wilson dropped the name Thomas, and Calvin Coolidge dropped his given first name, John. President Eisenhower inverted his given first and middle name to become Dwight David Eisenhower.
As a result of a divorce and a fatal car accident, two presidents made changes to their names. The 38th president was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr., in 1913. His mother divorced his father shortly after the future president was born, and she remarried in 1916. Leslie’s name was informally changed to Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. shortly after his mother’s second marriage. She married Gerald Rudolph Ford, Sr. The younger Ford formally changed his name in 1935 when he was 22.
William Jefferson Blythe, Jr. died as a result of a car accident in 1946, months before his son William Jefferson Blythe, III was born. Young William’s mother married Roger Clinton in 1950. In time William changed his name to William Jefferson Clinton.
The most common presidential first name is James (Madison, Monroe, Polk, Buchanan, Garfield and Carter) with a total of six. John (Adams, Quincy Adams, Tyler, and Kennedy) and William (Henry Harrison, McKinley, Taft and Clinton) each have four. George is third with three (Washington and both of the Bushes).
Harry Truman was the only president with a middle initial, but no middle name. John Quincy Adams was the first president to have a middle name, and George Herbert Walker Bush is the only president to have four names. Presidents with the longest last names were Washington and Eisenhower, both had 10 letters.