List of presidents of the United States

The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States,indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. Under the U.S. Constitution, the officeholder leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.

The White House, official residence of the president of the United States

The first president, George Washington, won a unanimous vote of the Electoral College. The incumbent president is Donald Trump, who assumed office on January 20, 2025. Since the office was established in 1789, 45 men have served in 47 presidencies. The discrepancy is due to the nonconsecutive terms of Grover Cleveland (counted as the 22nd and 24th president) and Trump (counted as the 45th and 47th president).

The presidency of William Henry Harrison, who died 31 days after taking office in 1841, was the shortest in American history.Franklin D. Roosevelt served the longest, over twelve years, before dying early in his fourth term in 1945. He is the only U.S. president to have served more than two terms. Since the ratification of the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1951, no person may be elected president more than twice, and no one who has served more than two years of a term to which someone else was elected may be elected more than once.

Four presidents died in office of natural causes (William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Warren G. Harding, and Franklin D. Roosevelt), four were assassinated (Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy), and one resigned (Richard Nixon, facing impeachment and removal from office).John Tyler was the first vice president to assume the presidency during a presidential term, setting the precedent that a vice president who does so becomes the fully functioning president with a new, distinct administration.

Throughout most of its history, American politics has been dominated by political parties. The Constitution is silent on the issue of political parties, and at the time it came into force in 1789, no organized parties existed. Soon after the 1st Congress convened, political factions began rallying around dominant Washington administration officials, such as Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Concerned about the capacity of political parties to destroy the fragile unity holding the nation together, Washington remained unaffiliated with any political faction or party throughout his eight-year presidency. He remains the only U.S. president who never affiliated with a political party.

Presidents

List of all presidents of the United States.

No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Term	Party		Election	Vice President
1		George Washington (1732–1799)	April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797		Unaffiliated	1788–89	John Adams
						1792
2		John Adams (1735–1826)	March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801		Federalist	1796	Thomas Jefferson
3		Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)	March 4, 1801 – March 4, 1809		Democratic- Republican	1800	Aaron Burr
						1804	George Clinton
4		James Madison (1751–1836)	March 4, 1809 – March 4, 1817		Democratic- Republican	1808	George Clinton
							Vacant after April 20, 1812
						1812	Elbridge Gerry
							Vacant after November 23, 1814
5		James Monroe (1758–1831)	March 4, 1817 – March 4, 1825		Democratic- Republican	1816	Daniel D. Tompkins
						1820
6		John Quincy Adams (1767–1848)	March 4, 1825 – March 4, 1829		Democratic- Republican	1824	John C. Calhoun
					National Republican
7		Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)	March 4, 1829 – March 4, 1837		Democratic	1828	John C. Calhoun
							Vacant after December 28, 1832
						1832	Martin Van Buren
8		Martin Van Buren (1782–1862)	March 4, 1837 – March 4, 1841		Democratic	1836	Richard Mentor Johnson
9		William Henry Harrison (1773–1841)	March 4, 1841 – April 4, 1841		Whig	1840	John Tyler
10		John Tyler (1790–1862)	April 4, 1841 – March 4, 1845		Whig	–	Vacant throughout presidency
					Unaffiliated
11		James K. Polk (1795–1849)	March 4, 1845 – March 4, 1849		Democratic	1844	George M. Dallas
12		Zachary Taylor (1784–1850)	March 4, 1849 – July 9, 1850		Whig	1848	Millard Fillmore
13		Millard Fillmore (1800–1874)	July 9, 1850 – March 4, 1853		Whig	–	Vacant throughout presidency
14		Franklin Pierce (1804–1869)	March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857		Democratic	1852	William R. King
							Vacant after April 18, 1853
15		James Buchanan (1791–1868)	March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861		Democratic	1856	John C. Breckinridge
16		Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)	March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865		Republican	1860	Hannibal Hamlin
					National Union	1864	Andrew Johnson
17		Andrew Johnson (1808–1875)	April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869		National Union	–	Vacant throughout presidency
					Democratic
18		Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885)	March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1877		Republican	1868	Schuyler Colfax
						1872	Henry Wilson
							Vacant after November 22, 1875
19		Rutherford B. Hayes (1822–1893)	March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1881		Republican	1876	William A. Wheeler
20		James A. Garfield (1831–1881)	March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881		Republican	1880	Chester A. Arthur
21		Chester A. Arthur (1829–1886)	September 19, 1881 – March 4, 1885		Republican	–	Vacant throughout presidency
22		Grover Cleveland (1837–1908) 1st term	March 4, 1885 – March 4, 1889		Democratic	1884	Thomas A. Hendricks
							Vacant after November 25, 1885
23		Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)	March 4, 1889 – March 4, 1893		Republican	1888	Levi P. Morton
24		Grover Cleveland (1837–1908) 2nd term	March 4, 1893 – March 4, 1897		Democratic	1892	Adlai Stevenson I
25		William McKinley (1843–1901)	March 4, 1897 – September 14, 1901		Republican	1896	Garret Hobart
							Vacant after November 21, 1899
						1900	Theodore Roosevelt
26		Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919)	September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909		Republican	–	Vacant through March 4, 1905
						1904	Charles W. Fairbanks
27		William Howard Taft (1857–1930)	March 4, 1909 – March 4, 1913		Republican	1908	James S. Sherman
							Vacant after October 30, 1912
28		Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)	March 4, 1913 – March 4, 1921		Democratic	1912	Thomas R. Marshall
						1916
29		Warren G. Harding (1865–1923)	March 4, 1921 – August 2, 1923		Republican	1920	Calvin Coolidge
30		Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)	August 2, 1923 – March 4, 1929		Republican	–	Vacant through March 4, 1925
						1924	Charles G. Dawes
31		Herbert Hoover (1874–1964)	March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933		Republican	1928	Charles Curtis
32		Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)	March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945		Democratic	1932	John Nance Garner
						1936
						1940	Henry A. Wallace
						1944	Harry S. Truman
33		Harry S. Truman (1884–1972)	April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1953		Democratic	–	Vacant through January 20, 1949
						1948	Alben W. Barkley
34		Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969)	January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961		Republican	1952	Richard Nixon
						1956
35		John F. Kennedy (1917–1963)	January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963		Democratic	1960	Lyndon B. Johnson
36		Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973)	November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969		Democratic	–	Vacant through January 20, 1965
						1964	Hubert Humphrey
37		Richard Nixon (1913–1994)	January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974		Republican	1968	Spiro Agnew
						1972
							Vacant: October 10 – December 6, 1973
							Gerald Ford
38		Gerald Ford (1913–2006)	August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977		Republican	–	Vacant through December 19, 1974
							Nelson Rockefeller
39		Jimmy Carter (1924–2024)	January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981		Democratic	1976	Walter Mondale
40		Ronald Reagan (1911–2004)	January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989		Republican	1980	George H. W. Bush
						1984
41		George H. W. Bush (1924–2018)	January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993		Republican	1988	Dan Quayle
42		Bill Clinton (b. 1946)	January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001		Democratic	1992	Al Gore
						1996
43		George W. Bush (b. 1946)	January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009		Republican	2000	Dick Cheney
						2004
44		Barack Obama (b. 1961)	January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017		Democratic	2008	Joe Biden
						2012
45		Donald Trump (b. 1946) 1st term	January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021		Republican	2016	Mike Pence
46		Joe Biden (b. 1942)	January 20, 2021 – January 20, 2025		Democratic	2020	Kamala Harris
47		Donald Trump (b. 1946) 2nd term	January 20, 2025 – Incumbent		Republican	2024	JD Vance

See also

• Acting President of the United States
• Founding Fathers of the United States
• Historical rankings of presidents of the United States
• List of vice presidents of the United States
• President of the Continental Congress

Works cited

General

• Guide to U.S. Elections. SAGE Publications. 2010. ISBN 978-1-60426-536-1.
• "Chronological List of Presidents, First Ladies, and Vice Presidents of the United States". Library of Congress. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
• "Presidents". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved May 14, 2022.

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• "Joe Biden". whitehouse.gov (NARA Archive). Retrieved May 14, 2022.

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