This past week President Obama’s official endorsement of same-sex marriage prompted the media to brand him “the first gay president.” Journalistic trolling it may have been, but it got us thinking about actual presidential “firsts.” 

Have you ever wondered which president was the first ...

... To Be Arrested: Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)

In 1853 one of the least-remembered and notoriously useless presidents earned a second footnote in the history books. Pierce was accused of driving recklessly after running over an old woman with his turbocharged horse and buggy, though the arresting officer immediately let the perp go after realizing who he was. Ulysses S. Grant would be temporarily booked for a similar crime years later.

... To Be Overweight: Grover Cleveland (1885-1889, 1893-1897)

If you want to be president, you’d better start running laps: only five out of 43 have been technically overweight. The first to tip the scales was Grover Cleveland, who topped out at 250 lbs. In 1895, he was arrested for running over an old woman with his gut.

... To Earn a Ph.D: Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)

Woodrow Wilson was the first and still the only commander in chief you could theoretically call “Dr. President.” Before entering politics he earned his doctorate from Johns Hopkins University for history and political science. Harry S. Truman was the last (and only modern) president to be elected without a college degree.

... To Kill Someone In Peacetime: Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)

Andrew “Old Hickory” Jackson, so named for his tendency to beat up trees, was by all accounts a temperamental son of a bitch. He is remembered for fighting and winning (obviously) many duels throughout his life, including the first and perhaps only peacetime killing by a future president. In 1806, some two decades before being elected, Jackson challenged lawyer and ostensive shit-talker Charles Dickinson to a pistol duel. Knowing his opponent was a quick shot, Jackson willfully took the first bullet – in the ribs – to get the upper hand. It worked.

... To Survive an Assassination Attempt: Andrew Jackson


Because shooting anyone that looked at him cockeyed wasn’t enough to prove his manliness to future generations, Andrew Jackson also holds the distinction of surviving the first presidential assassination attempt. In January 1835, a deranged painter named Richard Lawrence shot at Jackson, but the gun misfired. He managed to squeeze the trigger a second time as Jackson used a walking cane to beat him to the ground, but it too failed to go off.

... To Die in Office: William Henry Harrison (1841)

Ninth POTUS William Henry Harrison served the shortest term in American history. At 68, he was one of the oldest elected presidents ever, which in the 19th century was kind of a big deal: already suffering from a cold, stress and lack of rest (though not because, as if often believed, he decided to deliver a two-hour inaugural address in the freezing cold) exacerbated the sickness into pneumonia. Misinformed medical treatments of the time, like picking patients up by the ankles to shake out the germs, proved ineffective. Harrison died after serving 30 days in office.

... To Destroy His Opponent: Warren Harding (1921-1923)

Using popular vote percentages, Warren Harding’s trouncing of James M. Cox in 1920 could be considered the first landslide presidential victory. The Republican earned 60.3 per cent to James M. Cox’s 34.1. Disgraced but undeterred, Cox went back to his old job as President of the Stock Market.

... To Appear On Television: FDR (1933-1945)

Though a 1947 address by Harry Truman was the first to be broadcast on TV,  Franklin D. Roosevelt beat him to this specific honour by several years. In 1939, The National Broadcasting Company aired footage of Roosevelt speaking to attendees of the World’s Fair, with an at-the-time record breaking five people tuning in.

... To Get Divorced: Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)

Ronald Reagan holds the unusual distinction of being the first and only U.S. president to get divorced. Perhaps owed to his initial career as an awful actor in crappy movies, Reagan’s first wife, actress Jane Wyman, cited the Gipper’s “distraction” as a primary factor for leaving him. That, or his secret monkey fetish.

... To Fly: Teddy Roosevelt (1901-1909)

Perhaps utilizing his chubby physique to test the lift potential of their new invention, the Wright Brothers allowed Teddy Roosevelt to take the first “airship” ride of any president. Roosevelt, a year out of office, took the opportunity to drop large rocks on passing buffalo.

... To Wear Pants: James Madison (1809-1817)

James Madison helped draft the Constitution and Bill of Rights, but who cares. More importantly he was the first president to wear trouser pants instead of knee-length breeches, and the first to appear publicly without a wig, as was the style at the time.

... To Not Wear a Hat During His Inauguration: Lyndon Johnson (1963-1969)

Legend says that youthful president John F. Kennedy started the now-common practice of gentlemen going hatless in public by dropping the traditional stovepipe top hat worn during inaugurations. Truth is, Kennedy did wear the hat. His successor, Lyndon Johnson however, did not, though by that time the death of the chapeau was already in full effect.