Which U.S. President Was First To ... Quiz

Answer: James A. Garfield

James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States, was known for his ability to simultaneously write in Latin with his right hand and in Greek with his left hand.

James A. Garfield took the Oath of Office on March 4, 1881. Less than four months later on July 2, 1881, Garfield was shot twice, being struck in the back and arm, while he waited at the Sixth Street Station of the Baltimore-Potomac Railroad, awaiting a train. Garfield was accompanied to the station by most of his Cabinet, which included Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln. Sixteen years earlier, young Robert Todd Lincoln watched his father, President Abraham Lincoln, die from wounds received by an assassin.

After a long battle and deterioration of his condition, James A Garfield succumbed to his wounds and died on September 19, 1881. This also made him the first US president to die before his 50th birthday.

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

The 16th President of the United Stated, Abraham Lincoln, was the first to be photographed at his inauguration, on March 4, 1861 in Washington D.C.

The inauguration also marked the first time that Abraham Lincoln appeared in public with his now familiar beard. Lincoln grew the beard between the time that he was elected November 6, 1860, and his inauguration date.

Abraham Lincoln was also the first Republican to be elected to the Presidency, and the first President to appear on a U.S. coin.

Answer: Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States was the first President to send an email message.

While he admitted to not being a "prolific user", Clinton claims that he sent only two emails during his terms in office.

According to Clinton, he sent an email to the U.S. Troops in the Adriatic (Bosnia-Herzegovina), and an email the U.S. Senator John Glenn as he travelled into space on space shuttle mission STS-95, shortly after his 77th birthday.

Caught in the first wave of widespread internet use, the Clinton administration was the first to create an official White House website, whitehouse.gov, on October 21, 1994.

Answer: Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, was the first U.S. President to be invited to speak before the combined British Houses of Parliament (Lords and Commons).

The historic event took place on June 8, 1982, in the Royal gallery of the Palace of Westminster, in London, England.

Reagan, also known as "The Great Communicator", predicted the eventual downfall of Communism, stating that "It will be left on the 'ash heap' of history.
Reagan very eloquently explained his reasons for opposing Communism, and encouraged the British to assist in goal of attaining worldwide freedom.
Reagan compared the struggle to former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's fight against Nazi tyranny in World War II.

First for Ronald Reagan while he was in office (1981-1989) included:

- Being the first President to receive more than fifty million popular votes in a single election;
- Being the first President to appoint a woman to the U.S. Supreme Court (Sandra Day O'Connor);
- Being the first President to visit the New York Stock Exchange, which occurred on March 28, 1985.

Answer: Andrew Jackson

Historians agree that Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States, was born in a log cabin, but there is some dispute over which state the cabin was located in. What is known is that it was located somewhere near the then-unmarked border between North and South Carolina.

North Carolina historians stand by the notion that the cabin, owned by the Jackson family, was near the head of Ligget's Branch, a tributary of Twelve Mile Creek in the Catawha River region of North Carolina. Both North Carolina and South Carolina sought the honor of being able to call Jackson a native of their state.

Other notable firsts for Andrew Jackson are that he was the first Democrat elected to the Presidency and he was the first President to ride on a railroad train.

Answer: Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States, was the first President to have a Ph.D. Wilson earned his Ph.D. in Political Science at John Hopkins University in 1886.

Even before his political career, Wilson was described as a dedicated scholar and orator. In addition to John Hopkins University, Wilson attended Davidson College in Charlotte, North Carolina, Princeton University, where he earned his BA, and the University of Virginia, where he studied law.

Wilson worked as a professor and scholar at several institutions, including Bryn Mawr in Pennsylvania and Wesleyan in Connecticut before being selected as the 13th President of Princeton University, a post he held for eight years.

Woodrow Wilson was the 34th Governor of New Jersey before running for, and winning the Presidency of the United States in 1913.

Woodrow Wilson was both the first President to visit Europe while in office, and the first sitting President to meet the Pope (Pope Benedict XV in Rome on January 4, 1919).

He was also the first President to attend a World Series Baseball Game. Wilson attended three consecutive games in Philadelphia, where the Phillies lost two of the three games to the Boston Red Sox in 1915. Wilson also threw out the first pitch of game two.

Answer: John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 29, 1917, making him the first US President born in the 20th Century.

While the question is easy, the answer is a bit more complicated.
Four men who would become President of the United States had birth dates in the 20th Century BEFORE Kennedy's, but all served their terms in office AFTER Kennedy's term.
Historians therefore consider John F. Kennedy the first President to be born in the 20th Century. The other Presidents: Lyndon B. Johnson - born August 27, 1908, Ronald Reagan - born February 6, 1911, Richard M. Nixon - born January 9, 1913, and Gerald Ford - born July 14, 1913.

Additional firsts for John F. Kennedy:
- First President to have been a Boy Scout.
- First President to have to be awarded a Purple Heart for injuries received during the infamous destruction of his patrol-torpedo boat, "PT-109", during World War II.

Answer: Martin Van Buren

The eighth President, Martin Van Buren is considered to be the first President to be born in the United States of America.

Martin Van Buren was born on December 5, 1782, in Kinderhook, New York. The small village of Kinderhook was located approximately 50 miles South of Albany, on the Hudson River.

While the previous seven men who served as President were born on what we now know as American soil, at the times of their births, the United States of America did not exist. The first seven Presidents were born in British exploratory colonies, making them all British subjects at the time of their births.

The United States of America came into existence in 1776, after the signing of the "Declaration of Independence".
Martin Van Buren was the first President born after the "Declaration of Independence" was signed and ratified.

A lifelong patriot and career politician, before winning the Presidency in 1837, Van Buren served as U.S. Senator from New York (1821-1828), Governor of New York (1829), Secretary of State (1829-1831), U.S. Minister to the United Kingdom (1831-1832), and Vice President (1831-1837).
Van Buren served as President for one term (1837-1841).

Additional notable first for Martin Van Buren:

- First President who spoke a language other than English as his first language. Van Buren spoke Dutch before learning English.
- First President to meet the Pope. Van Buren met with Pope Pius IX, in Rome in 1855, after leaving office.

Answer: George Washington

George Washington, one of America's Founding Fathers and first President of the United States, spontaneously added the words "so help me God", to the end of his oath of office, during his inaugural swearing in ceremony.

Washington was sworn into office by Robert Livingston, Chancellor of the State of New York at Federal Hall in New York City on April 30, 1789.

Author Washington Irving referenced the added words to the oath in his five volume biography on George Washington, researched and written between 1855 and 1859. The four added words to the oath of office was confirmed by Donald R. Kennon, Chief Historian for the U.S. Capitol Historical Society.

As the first Chief Executive of the United States, everything that George Washington did could be considered a Presidential first, including being the first President to appear on a postage stamp, to own slaves, to receive every presidential elector vote in an election, and to be a Freemason.

Answer: Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, was the first President to appear on television.

Roosevelt's premier television appearance came on April 30, 1939, when he spoke at the opening ceremonies for the New York World's Fair.
The broadcast was a demonstration of television, and was aired by RCA Television cameras to television sets in the New York area.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the longest serving U.S. President, was responsible for a number of Presidential firsts.

Roosevelt was the first, and only president to serve more than two terms in office. Roosevelt was elected to four consecutive terms. Because of the 22nd amendment to the "Constitution", the record will never be challenged or surpassed. The 22nd Amendment set term limits for the presidency.

Roosevelt was the first President to nominate a woman to a cabinet position.
Frances Perkins was nominated and later confirmed for the post of Secretary of Labor. Perkins remained in the position for the entire duration of Roosevelt's terms (April 4, 1933 through June 30, 1945.

Roosevelt was the first President to establish a Presidential library.
The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library and Museum was constructed in 1939 and officially dedicated on June 30, 1941. The library is located in Roosevelt's birthplace location, Hyde Park, New York.