The year of 2016, has really been a year of surprises for the US Presidential election. However, it’s not the first time that US citizens have seen such surprising things happen. If you look at the history of previous presidential election events in the country, you would find many more interesting details about the various patterns of elections, and the background or history of the earlier presidents. Here is a sneak peek at the most interesting observations of the US elections from the early nineteenth century till date.
Won the vote only
These are some of the candidates who were lucky to won the vote only, but not the elections:
- Andrew Jackson defeated by John Quincy Adams (1824)
- Samuel Tilden defeated by Rutherford B. Hayes (1876)
- Grover Cleveland defeated by Benjamin Harrison (1888)
- Al Gore defeated by George W. Bush (2000)
The Rules to follow
These are some prerequisites for a presidential election candidate in the US, and one of them says that the person has to be at least 35 years old. President John F. Kennedy was elected at an age of 43 which is the lowest and closest to the mark of 35.
However, there is no rule regarding the height. James Madison, who was as short as 5’ 4” was also the president, and then Abraham Lincoln who was as tall as 6’ 4” was also the president.
Facts to discover
And here are some really interesting facts about some of the earlier presidents:
- James Buchanan stayed a bachelor always
- The only divorced elected was Ronald Regan
- When Franklin D. Roosevelt won his mother also voted for him
- There were 6 presidents who never had their own kids, and they were Jackson, Washington, Harding, Madison, Polk and Buchanan.
- Wilson, Harrison and Tyler had lost their wives in their tenure.
- John Tyler had a total of 15 kids of which 7 were girls and rest boys.
- Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Monroe died on 4th July.
- Gerald Ford was the only one who never got elected to office not as vice president and president
The death chart
Now let’s come to the death chart. The following four had died in the office:
- William Henry Harrison in 1841 due to pneumonia
- Zachary Taylor in 1850 due to acute gastroenteritis
- Warren G. Harding in 1923 due to heart attack
- Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945 due to cerebral hemorrhage
And the below 4 presidents were assassinated:
- Abraham Lincoln in 1865
- James Garfield in 1881
- William McKinley in 1901
- John F. Kennedy in 1963
This is the story of election history of the US that is filled of surprises.
Daryl Green