The position of being President of the United States of America can be a mighty tough job, and these following men have stood up to the plate and have served the country one time or another, for better or for worse. But we’re not talking about politics here, so let’s reveal a bit of the light side and show some interesting tidbits of the 43 (not 44!) guys who have shaped the history of the US. Some hilarious, others exciting, everything significant — they’re just as human as we are!

1. GEORGE WASHINGTON (served 1789-1797)

When he was sworn in as President, he only had one real tooth — everything else were dentures!

2. JOHN ADAMS (served 1797-1801)

He held the first fireworks display at the White House.

3. THOMAS JEFFERSON (served 1801-1809)

He had a pet mockingbird that he allowed to fly around the White House.

4. JAMES MADISON (served 1809-1817)

He was the shortest president at 5 feet 4 inches.

5. JAMES MONROE (served 1817-1825)

He was the third of five presidents to pass away on Independence Day, July 4. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson also died on the same day five years ago.

6. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS (served 1825-1829)

Apart from being John Adams’ son, the younger Adams traveled to Russia where he translated documents into French for the U.S. Minister to Russia when he was only 14.

7. ANDREW JACKSON (served 1829-1837)

He was the only president who fought in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

8. MARTIN VAN BUREN (served 1837-1841)

Senators often brawled during those days, so he wore his pistols when he went to the Senate.

9. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON (served 1841)

He was in office for such a short time (only a month), because of complications due to pneumonia.

10. JOHN TYLER (served 1841-1845)

He was nicknamed “His Accidency” — being the first person to become President because someone else died in office.

11. JAMES POLK (served 1845-1849)

An admirer of Andrew Jackson, Polk was known as “Young Hickory”, which was similar to Jackson’s nickname, “Old Hickory”.

12. ZACHARY TAYLOR (served 1849-1850)

He was James Madison’s second cousin.

13. MILLARD FILLMORE (served 1850-1853)

Thirty states made up the United States when he became President.

14. FRANKLIN PIERCE (served 1853-1857)

He recited his entire inaugural speech from memory.

15. JAMES BUCHANAN (served 1857-1861)

He was the only bachelor President — his niece Harriet Lane acted as White House hostess.

16. ABRAHAM LINCOLN (served 1861-1865)

He was the first US President to be assassinated.

17. ANDREW JOHNSON (served 1865-1869)

He held every elected political office at the local, state and national level. He was mayor, state representative, state senator, governor, congressman, senator, vice president and president.

18. ULYSSES GRANT (served 1869-1877)

An accomplished horse rider and horse jumper, his high-jump record at West Point stood for more than 25 years.

19. RUTHERFORD HAYES (served 1877-1881)

He became the first president to visit the West Coast, when he arrived in San Francisco in September 1880.

20. JAMES GARFIELD (served 1881)

He owned a dog named Veto.

21. CHESTER ARTHUR (served 1881-1885)

He dedicated the Washington Monument in February 1885.

22. GROVER CLEVELAND (served 1885-1889)

He and his young wife Frances Folsom had a baby while he was in office; the first president to have a child born in the White House.

23. BENJAMIN HARRISON (served 1889-1893)

He lost the popular vote, but won more votes in the electoral college than his opponent, Grover Cleveland.

24. GROVER CLEVELAND (served 1893-1897)

No, this isn’t a typographical error. It is a common misconception that there are 44 American presidents; but Cleveland served in 2 nonconsecutive terms (counted as #22 and #24).

25. WILLIAM MCKINLEY (served 1897-1901)

The $500 bill features a portrait of President McKinley, last printed in 1945.

26. THEODORE ROOSEVELT (served 1901-1909)

He officially changed the name of the President’s House, or Executive Mansion, to the “White House” in 1901.

27. WILLIAM TAFT (served 1909-1913)

He is one of two presidents buried in the Arlington National Cemetery in northern Virginia. (The other is John F. Kennedy.)

28. WOODROW WILSON (served 1913-1921)

He was the first president to earn a doctorate, or Ph.D., which is the highest degree a university can grant a student.

29. WARREN HARDING (served 1921-1923)

He was the first president to hold a radio broadcast.

30. CALVIN COOLIDGE (served 1923-1929)

Coolidge found out at 2:30 a.m. that he was succeeding as president. President Harding had just died of a heart attack.

31. HERBERT HOOVER (served 1929-1933)

He and his wife Lou spent time in China from 1899 to 1900. Back in the US, they would sometimes speak Chinese together so no one could understand them.

32. FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT (served 1933-1945)

At the age of 39, he contracted polio which left him with only partial use of his legs.

33. HARRY TRUMAN (served 1945-1953)

After he retired, Truman referred to himself as “Mr. Citizen” rather than “Mr. President”.

34. DWIGHT EISENHOWER (served 1953-1961)

He was the first president licensed to fly an airplane.

35. JOHN KENNEDY (served 1961-1963)

He won the Pulitzer Prize for his book, “Profiles in Courage”.

36. LYNDON JOHNSON (served 1963-1969)

He left home at the age of 15, performing odd jobs for money. He briefly worked as an elevator operator and a grape picker.

37. RICHARD NIXON (served 1969-1974)

He was one of two presidents belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (or Quakers). The other was Hoover.

38. GERALD FORD (served 1974-1977)

He held his daughter Susan’s high school prom at the White House.

39. JIMMY CARTER (served 1977-1981)

Born James Earl Carter, he was the first president sworn in using his nickname.

40. RONALD REAGAN (served 1981-1989)

He was the oldest man elected to the presidency at the age of 69.

41. GEORGE H. W. BUSH (served 1989-1990)

He was the captain of the baseball team while attending Yale University.

42. WILLIAM CLINTON (served 1993-2001)

He once considered making a living as a saxophone player.

43. GEORGE W. BUSH (served 2001-2009)

Aside from being the son of #41, his twin daughters Jenna and Barbara were named after their grandmothers.

44. BARACK OBAMA (served 2009- )

He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, but got a D in eighth-grade French. As a teen, he worked as an ice cream scooper at Baskin Robbins.