President Biographies
President Biographies - POTUS
Find the biographies of all (POTUS) presidents of the United States of America, from 1789 to present (George Washington to George W Bush)

The American President is widely considered to be the most powerful person on the earth, and is usually one of the world's best-known public figures.
 

Biographies of US Presidents (POTUS)

The President of the United States of America ("POTUS") is the head of state of the United States. Under the US Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.

The American President is widely considered to be the most powerful person on the earth, and is usually one of the world's best-known public figures. During the Cold War, the President was sometimes referred to as "the leader of the free world," a phrase that is still invoked today.

The United States was the first nation to create the office of President as the head of state in a modern republic. Today the office is widely emulated all over the world in nations with a presidential system of government.

This is a list of the current presidential line of succession, as specified by the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 (3 U.S.C. § 19) and subsequent amendments to include newly created cabinet officers.

The President biographies presented here are from the book The Presidents of the United States of America written by Frank Freidel and Hugh S. Sidey (contributing author), published by the White House Historical Association http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ with the cooperation of the National Geographic Society.



Chronological 1789 to Present

Portrait of George Washington Washington, George
1789-97
Portrait of John Adams Adams, John
1797-1801
Portrait of Thomas Jefferson Jefferson, Thomas
1801-09
Portrait of James Madison Madison, James
1809-17
Portrait of James Monroe Monroe, James
1817-25
Portrait of John Quincy Adams Adams, John Quincy
1825-29
Portrait of Andrew Jackson Jackson, Andrew
1829-37
Portrait of Martin Van Buren Van Buren, Martin
1837-41
Portrait of William Henry Harrison Harrison, William Henry
1841
Portrait of John Tyler Tyler, John
1841-45
Portrait of James Polk Polk, James
1845-49
Portrait of Zachary Taylor Taylor, Zachary
1849-50
Portrait of Millard Fillmore Fillmore, Millard
1850-53
Portrait of Franklin Pierce Pierce, Franklin
1853-57
Portrait of James Buchanan Buchanan, James
1857-61
Portrait of Abraham Lincoln Lincoln, Abraham
1861-65
Portrait of Andrew Johnson Johnson, Andrew
1865-69
Portrait of Ulysses Grant Grant, Ulysses S.
1869-77
Portrait of Rutherford Hayes Hayes, Rutherford B.
1877-81
Portrait of James Garfield Garfield, James
1881
Portrait of Chester Arthur Arthur, Chester
1881-85
Portrait of Grover Cleveland Cleveland, Grover
1885-89
Portrait of Benjamin Harrison Harrison, Benjamin
1889-93
Portrait of Grover Cleveland Cleveland, Grover
1893-97
Portrait of William McKinley McKinley, William
1897-1901
Portrait of Theodore Roosevelt Roosevelt, Theodore
1901-09
Portrait of William Howard Taft Taft, William H.
1909-13
Portrait of Woodrow Wilson Wilson, Woodrow
1913-21
Portrait of Warren Harding Harding, Warren
1921-23
Portrait of Calvin Coolidge Coolidge, Calvin
1923-29
Portrait of Herbert Hoover Hoover, Herbert
1929-33
Portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt Roosevelt, Franklin D.
1933-45
Portrait of Harry Truman Truman, Harry
1945-53
Portrait of Dwight Eisenhower Eisenhower, Dwight
1953-61
Portrait of John Kennedy Kennedy, John F.
1961-63
Portrait of Lyndon Johnson Johnson, Lyndon
1963-69
Portrait of Richard Nixon Nixon, Richard
1969-74
Portrait of Gerald Ford Ford, Gerald
1974-77
Portrait of Jimmy Carter Carter, Jimmy
1977-81
Portrait of Ronald Reagan Reagan, Ronald
1981-89
Portrait of George H.W. Bush Bush, George H.W.
1989-93
Portrait of William Clinton Clinton, William J.
1993-2001
Portrait of George W. Bush Bush, George W.
2001-2009
Portrait of Barack Hussein Obama (II) Barack Obama
2009-present
US Presidents ("POTUS")
US Presidents ("POTUS")

US Presidents: Life & Accomplishments