Forty-seven presidencies, forty-five people: that mismatch is the first thing to know about the list. Grover Cleveland (22nd and 24th) and Donald Trump (45th and 47th) each served two non-consecutive terms, so each is counted twice. The order runs from George Washington in 1789 to Trump, inaugurated for his second term in January 2025.
Nobody memorizes 47 names in one sitting, so this guide cuts the list into eight chapters, each tied to an era you may already know. Learn one chapter a day and the whole list is yours in a week.
Chapter 1: The Founders (1–5)
1 George Washington, 1789–1797 · 2 John Adams, 1797–1801 · 3 Thomas Jefferson, 1801–1809 · 4 James Madison, 1809–1817 · 5 James Monroe, 1817–1825
Four of the five were Virginians. Adams, from Massachusetts, is the odd one out, and he comes second.
Chapter 2: Sons and Jacksonians (6–11)
6 John Quincy Adams, 1825–1829 · 7 Andrew Jackson, 1829–1837 · 8 Martin Van Buren, 1837–1841 · 9 William Henry Harrison, 1841 · 10 John Tyler, 1841–1845 · 11 James K. Polk, 1845–1849
John Quincy Adams was John Adams’s son. “Tippecanoe and Tyler too,” Harrison’s campaign slogan, ties numbers 9 and 10 together.
Chapter 3: The road to the Civil War (12–15)
12 Zachary Taylor, 1849–1850 · 13 Millard Fillmore, 1850–1853 · 14 Franklin Pierce, 1853–1857 · 15 James Buchanan, 1857–1861
Four short presidencies in a row, then Lincoln.
Chapter 4: Civil War and Reconstruction (16–19)
16 Abraham Lincoln, 1861–1865 · 17 Andrew Johnson, 1865–1869 · 18 Ulysses S. Grant, 1869–1877 · 19 Rutherford B. Hayes, 1877–1881
Chapter 5: The Gilded Age (20–25)
20 James A. Garfield, 1881 · 21 Chester A. Arthur, 1881–1885 · 22 Grover Cleveland, 1885–1889 · 23 Benjamin Harrison, 1889–1893 · 24 Grover Cleveland, 1893–1897 · 25 William McKinley, 1897–1901
Cleveland sandwiches Benjamin Harrison, the grandson of the 9th president.
Chapter 6: Progressives and the 1920s (26–31)
26 Theodore Roosevelt, 1901–1909 · 27 William Howard Taft, 1909–1913 · 28 Woodrow Wilson, 1913–1921 · 29 Warren G. Harding, 1921–1923 · 30 Calvin Coolidge, 1923–1929 · 31 Herbert Hoover, 1929–1933
The two Roosevelts are separated by a generation; between Teddy and Hoover come Taft, Wilson, Harding and Coolidge.
Chapter 7: Depression to the Cold War (32–38)
32 Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933–1945 · 33 Harry S. Truman, 1945–1953 · 34 Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953–1961 · 35 John F. Kennedy, 1961–1963 · 36 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963–1969 · 37 Richard Nixon, 1969–1974 · 38 Gerald Ford, 1974–1977
Chapter 8: Living memory (39–47)
39 Jimmy Carter, 1977–1981 · 40 Ronald Reagan, 1981–1989 · 41 George H. W. Bush, 1989–1993 · 42 Bill Clinton, 1993–2001 · 43 George W. Bush, 2001–2009 · 44 Barack Obama, 2009–2017 · 45 Donald Trump, 2017–2021 · 46 Joe Biden, 2021–2025 · 47 Donald Trump, 2025–
The record book
- Shortest presidency: William Henry Harrison, 31 days in 1841.
- Longest: Franklin D. Roosevelt, just over 12 years. He is also the only president elected four times, which led to the 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, limiting presidents to two elected terms.
- Only one to resign: Richard Nixon, in 1974.
- Never elected as president or vice president: Gerald Ford.
- Youngest to take office: Theodore Roosevelt, at 42. Youngest elected: John F. Kennedy, at 43.
- Died in office: eight presidents, namely W. H. Harrison, Taylor, Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Harding, F. D. Roosevelt and Kennedy. Four of them were assassinated: Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy.
- Father and son: John Adams and John Quincy Adams; George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush.
Testing yourself
Cover the years and recite one chapter at a time, then test yourself with the presidents questions in our history trivia and in today’s quiz, which often includes a history question.