Talk:List of presidents of the United States

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Frequently asked questions

This section is here to provide answers to some questions that have been previously discussed on this talk page.
Note: This FAQ is only here to let people know that these points have previously been addressed, not to prevent any further discussion of these issues.

To view an explanation to the answer, click the [show] link to the right of the question.

General Concerns and Questions

Q1: John Hanson was actually the first president.

A1: John Hanson was the first President of the Continental Congress to serve a term under the Articles of Confederation. This office is different from President of the United States, which was only created after the US Constitution took effect in 1789.

Related Talk discussions: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]

Q2: __________ was acting president for a short time, why isn't he on the list?

A2: A period during which a vice-president or other person temporarily becomes Acting President under the Twenty-fifth Amendment is not a presidency, because the president remains in office during such a period.

Related Talk discussions: [6], [7], [8]

Q3: Grover Cleveland is listed twice, William McKinley was actually the 24th president.

A3: Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms, so while McKinley was in fact the 24th person to serve as president, Cleveland was both the 22nd and 24th president. Or another way: the next president after Benjamin Harrison was the 24th president. It should also be noted that almost all reference materials enumerate Cleveland in this way.

Related Talk discussions: [9], [10], [11], [12]

Q4: Harry Truman's middle name was "S". Since it's not an initial, it should not have the period after it.

A4: Harry Truman's middle name was in fact S; however, most reference materials still use the period. Truman himself signed his own name as "Harry S. Truman". Both with or without the period may be regarded as correct.

Related Talk discussions: [13], [14], [15], [16]

Q5: Democratic is an adjective. Presidents of this party should be listed as the noun, "Democrat".

A5: The correct name of the political party is the Democratic Party. In this case, the adjective is used to describe the party, which is what the list is showing. Note that Democrat Party can be seen as an epithet - see Democrat Party (epithet).

Related Talk discussions: [17]

Q6: Please add another column to the list for ___________.

A6: Every effort was made to show the most sought-after information in a concise table. Those interested in president lists based on other criteria should see Template:Lists of US Presidents and Vice Presidents.

Related Talk discussions: [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24]

Q7: I have an issue with one of the pictures used.

A7: It is recommended that the same picture from the president's individual article infobox be used on this list by default. However, any clear view of the face will work since the pictures are so small. Keep in mind that some images on external sites may be subject to copyright, and therefore difficult to bring into Wikipedia. If you have a specific concern about an image, feel free to discuss it here.

Related Talk discussions: [25], [26], [27], [28], [29], [30], [31], [32], [33], [34], [35], [36], [37]

List of presidents of the United States is a featured list, which means it has been identified as one of the best lists produced by the Wikipedia community. If you can update or improve it, please do so.

This article will appear on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured list on January 20, 2025.

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Date	Process	Result
June 15, 2005	Featured list candidate	Promoted
October 30, 2008	Featured list removal candidate	Demoted
June 26, 2009	Featured list candidate	Not promoted
March 3, 2021	Peer review	Reviewed
September 9, 2022	Featured list candidate	Promoted
Current status: Featured list

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Move logs: List of presidents of the United States
List of Presidents of the United States

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RM, List of Presidents of the United States → List of presidents of the United States, No move, 23 July 2012, discussion
RM, List of Presidents of the United States → List of presidents of the United States, No consensus, 20 May 2018, discussion
- MRV, Overturn and relist, 10 June 2018, discussion
RM, List of Presidents of the United States → List of presidents of the United States, Moved, 27 July 2019, discussion

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The years for the presidents are messed up.

The years for the presidents have been switched to 1800s and need to be fixed. 2601:680:CC01:FD00:CC8E:2448:FD21:3BAB (talk) 22:51, 9 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Which ones specifically? Drdpw (talk) 23:03, 9 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Dates in office for Nixon and Ford overlap.

Please check the dates as President for Nixon and Ford ... they overlap. 2601:703:281:160:65B0:9E9F:796C:A05D (talk) 01:46, 24 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Care to elaborate? It says Nixon ended on August 9, and says Ford started August 9. --Golbez (talk) 02:38, 24 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I do not see any overlap. The transfer of power took place on August 9, 1974, which the table shows correctly. The Nixon presidency ended shortly before 12 noon Eastern time that day, and the Ford presidency began at that time. Drdpw (talk) 02:41, 24 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Mention one-term presidents

I think there should be a short part of the lead to list the presidents who only served one term, probably only the ones denied of a second term in the past century though , with a slight mention of John Adams.

Biden, GHW Bush, Carter, Hoover, Harding and Taft. GeromeFordster (talk) 04:51, 10 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Why? --Golbez (talk) 06:14, 10 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

That is covered in List of presidents of the United States by time in office. Dimadick (talk) 12:00, 10 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 30 December 2024

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Change Jimmy Carter's listing to include his date of death. Gore2000 (talk) 02:13, 30 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Already done Cannolis (talk) 02:39, 30 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

George Washington's party

I added link of Independent politician in George Washington's information. But one editor revert it.

What you think? RealStranger43286 (talk) 05:02, 30 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

It's arguably an WP:EASTEREGG, and since it doesn't say much relevant to Washington's situation in particular, it's not relevant to readers of this article. Its presence is merely a visual distraction.Remsense ‥ 论 05:03, 30 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Really, there's a good reason it doesn't say "independent", because Washington wasn't. He wasn't a plucky upstart wedged between existing power blocs, he was entrenched in and was one of the most pivotal in molding what had been established of American state power. Thus, Independent politician has very little relevant to say. Remsense ‥ 论 05:08, 30 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Remsense Thanks. But Washington doesn't like and doesn't join political parties because he thinks it will divide nation. RealStranger43286 (talk) 05:20, 30 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Not sure how else to explain my position other than how I already did, sorry. Remsense ‥ 论 05:24, 30 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

requested change: Wikipedia is not a crystal ball

The last paragraph of the lede has a statement that violates Wikipedia practices. Wikipedia is not a crystal ball.

CURRENT VERSION: The incumbent president is Joe Biden, who assumed office on January 20, 2021.[13] The president-elect is Donald Trump, who will assume office on January 20, 2025.[14][15] Trump will be the second president after Cleveland to serve two non-consecutive terms, as the 45th and 47th president.[16]

REQUESTED CORRECTED VERSION The incumbent president is Joe Biden, who assumed office on January 20, 2021.[13] The president-elect is Donald Trump, who is scheduled to assume office on January 20, 2025.[14][15] Trump will be the second president after Cleveland to serve two non-consecutive terms, as the 45th and 47th president.[16]

REQUESTED CORRECTED VERSION ANNOTATED TO POINT OUT DIFFERENCE TO WIKI ADMIN The incumbent president is Joe Biden, who assumed office on January 20, 2021.[13] The president-elect is Donald Trump, who IS SCHEDULED TO assume office on January 20, 2025.[14][15] Trump will be the second president after Cleveland to serve two non-consecutive terms, as the 45th and 47th president.[16]

Trump could have a stroke or Covid and not "will assume office". Or the House might not confirm the electoral college because the speaker is not chosen in early January. ErrorCorrection1 (talk) 06:21, 30 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Not done: Reread WP:CRYSTAL. No part of it says what you seem to think it does. Remsense ‥ 论 06:34, 30 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]