James Garfield, the first left-handed US president

James Garfield's 79-day decline hooked America on news updates

After he was shot while departing Washington, DC, in 1881, the president was treated for his wounds and cared for at the White House. Since 1861, telegraphs had spanned the continent, and the Associated Press pooled sources to share telegraph news. The public, seeking updates on the president's condition, was able to receive them regularly for the first time due to this network, laying the foundation for the continuous news cycle.

George Washington set the template for the presidency

As the first US president, George Washington established key traditions still followed today—forming a Cabinet, serving only two terms, asserting executive independence, and peacefully transferring power—helping define how the presidency would function.

Ulysses S. Grant unsuccessfully attempted to run for a third term in 1880

After serving two terms from 1869 to 1877, Grant sought the Republican nomination again in 1880. Though he led the early convention ballots, party opposition blocked him, and James A. Garfield ultimately emerged as the nominee.

Former American President Abraham Lincoln is one of history’s most famous ghosts

Abraham Lincoln, Anne Boleyn, Pausanias, and the Maharajah Duleep Singh are just a few of the notable phantoms found around the world. Several White House occupants and visitors have claimed to see Lincoln, including Theodore Roosevelt, Grace Coolidge, and Winston Churchill.

The US president who had the most children

John Tyler, America’s 10th president, was born in 1790, yet still has one living grandchild. This bizarre phenomenon can be explained by his 15 children, which he had throughout all stages of his adult life. Tyler had eight children with one wife and seven with another, leading him to hold the title as the US president with the most children. Tyler was also the first US president to get married while in office.

Ford became the first and only president to pardon his predecessor

President Gerald Ford issued a "full, free, and absolute" pardon to Nixon on Sept. 8, 1974, covering any crimes committed between Jan. 20, 1969, and his resignation—effectively ending legal proceedings and making Nixon the first president ever pardoned by his successor.

Hear about James Madison's presidency with The Washington Post's 'Presidential' podcast

As president, Madison governed during periods of constitutional uncertainty, foreign policy crises, and the War of 1812, making him the first American president to serve during a declared war. This podcast analyzes how his constitutional ideas translated into effective presidential leadership.

See the presidents with the most vetoes

Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a record 635 vetoes—more than twice as many as any other president. Other frequent users include Grover Cleveland (584), Harry Truman (250), and Dwight Eisenhower (181), reflecting long tenures, divided government, high legislative output, and assertive executive leadership.

Woodrow Wilson revived the in-person State of the Union in 1913

President Wilson became the first president since John Adams to deliver the State of the Union in person. He is credited with transforming the speech from a routine update into a public tool for advancing the president's legislative agenda.

Adams was so involved as first lady that some nicknamed her 'Mrs. President'

As first lady, Adams took an active role in her husband's presidency—advising on appointments, critiquing his speeches, and corresponding extensively with politicians. She supported the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts and pressed for war with France during the XYZ Affair.

Andrew Jackson was the first and only president to eliminate the national debt

After Jackson slashed spending and began selling federal land, the government was accumulating more money than it was spending. The situation was unprecedented, but it didn’t last. Too much money was being printed and land prices rose to unsustainable levels. Within a year, the economy tumbled into a depression.

The story of America's first woman presidential candidate

This video guides us through the history of Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for president in the US. Despite the odds being against her, Woodhull experienced extraordinary success as a stockbroker, newspaper founder, and presidential candidate. Watch to learn more about her background, her revolutionary ideas, and her impact on 19th-century politics.

Hamilton's endorsement helped win Jefferson the presidency

In the 1800 presidential election, neither candidate won a majority in the Electoral College, sending the decision to the House of Representatives. After 36 failed votes, Alexander Hamilton lobbied for his ideological rival, Thomas Jefferson, over Aaron Burr, helping break the deadlock.

Why are some people left-handed?

About one-tenth of the world’s population are left-handed. Why does the trait exist in the first place? This five-minute video investigates how the uneven ratio of lefties and righties gives insight into a balance between competitive and cooperative pressures on human evolution.

Presidents have temporarily transferred power under the 25th Amendment during medical procedures

Section 3 of the 25th Amendment lets presidents temporarily transfer authority—without permanently giving up the office. Reagan, George W. Bush, and Biden each invoked it during medical procedures, briefly making their vice presidents acting president.

Frances Perkins was the first woman in the US to hold a cabinet position

President Franklin D. Roosevelt named her the United States Secretary of Labor in 1933. In her cabinet seat, she not only helped establish the first federal minimum wage in the US, but also the Social Security Act.

The namesake of gerrymandering was a signatory of the Declaration of Independence

Elbridge Gerry, a Massachusetts statesman and vice president under James Madison, signed the Declaration of Independence. He is also the only signer buried in Washington, DC, interred at Congressional Cemetery.

Meet Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space

In addition to being the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin was a charismatic propaganda icon and a diplomatic headache for the West. This article examines why his image—and legacy—endured long after he died in 1968.

James Madison spoke six languages

James Madison was competent in six languages: Latin, Greek, French, Italian, Spanish, and English. This shaped his classical education and informed his political philosophy. He later also studied Hebrew at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton).

Congress descended into fistfights, duels, and violence before the Civil War

In the decades before the Civil War, members of the United States Congress carried weapons, assaulted colleagues, and, in one case, a congressman killed another in a duel. The violence was driven largely by sectional conflict over slavery and foreshadowed the nation's descent into war.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

The Mexican-American War trained future Civil War generals

Many key military leaders of the Civil War—including Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson—first saw combat in the Mexican-American War, gaining battlefield experience that shaped their later commands.

Explore the biographies and official portraits of every US attorney general since 1789

The DOJ's official archive features profiles of every attorney general in American history—from Edmund Randolph, appointed by George Washington in 1789, to the present day—including their official portraits.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

The diplomat who implemented Monroe's policy introduced the poinsettia to the United States

Joel Roberts Poinsett, appointed as the first US minister to Mexico in 1825 following the doctrine's announcement, took cuttings of a vibrant Mexican plant called the cuetlaxochitl during his time there. Americans loved the foliage and named it after him.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to a health condition

Gehrig's diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease that now bears his name, forced him to retire early. Weeks later, he spoke with gratitude and stated, "For the past two weeks, you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." Gehrig died at the age of 37, about two years later.

The Smithsonian was first funded by a man who never visited the US

The Smithsonian Institution was established through a gift in the will of James Smithson, a British scientist who never visited America but left his fortune to establish an institution dedicated to the "increase and diffusion of knowledge."

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

The concept of phantom limbs, the perception that amputated limbs are still present, dates back to a French military surgeon in the 16th century.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

The first horror movie is believed to be George Méliès' 1986 short 'The Haunted Castle,' which pioneered the use of special effects

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

US intelligence allegedly pursued more than 600 schemes to assassinate Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro.

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

English mathematician Ada Lovelace wrote the first computer algorithm a century before computers existed and hypothesized that computing devices would one day be able to compose music—foreseeing the generative AI systems of today.

Experimental hantavirus vaccines and therapies, still under development, have long been funded by the US military.

Mark Twain spent decades feuding with the US Postal Service, convinced its costs and regulations were bureaucratic overreach.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

One of the most famous portraits ever taken is 'Afghan Girl' (1984) by Steve McCurry, yet the subject Sharbat Gula went much of her life without being identified or benefitting from the image's success.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.