President Ulysses S. Grant was nearly bankrupted by a Ponzi scheme a year before his death, and was saved from near-destitution by partnering with Mark Twain on his memoirs
US Presidents
US President Nixon believed that France…
US President Nixon believed that France, Italy and Latin America are too immature for democracy and should instead be ruled by authoritarian regimes.
In 1974, when President Nixon visited Syria…
In 1974, when President Nixon visited Syria, the Syrians sent MiG fighter jets as a friendly escort for Nixon’s Air Force One. Someone forgot to tell the pilot of Air Force One, who thought the plane was being attacked and took evasive maneuvers.
US president Calvin “Silent Cal” Coolidge…
US president Calvin “Silent Cal” Coolidge used to buzz for his secret service and then would hide under his desk while they frantically searched for him.
During the Cold War, the USA tried to intimidate…
During the Cold War, the USA tried to intimidate the Soviet Bloc by convincing them that then president Richard Nixon was an unstable lunatic who was likely to lash out for no rational reason, based on the dubious “madman theory” of foreign policy.
One reason Lyndon B. Johnson did…
One reason Lyndon B. Johnson did not run for re-election was because a study he commissioned had predicted he would die at 64 and thus may not make it through a 2nd term. True enough, he would die on 22 January 1973 at 64, 2 days after what would have been the end of his 2nd term.
The desk used by many presidents…
The desk used by many presidents of the United States was named “Resolute Desk” because it was made from pieces of wood of the HMS Resolute, a English ship discovered by an American in Artica, repaired and sent back to England as a sign of friendship between the two countries.
John F Kennedy Donated his full salary…
John F Kennedy donated his full salary both as president and during his 14 years in congress reaching around $500,000.
JFK was stranded on a desert island…
JFK was stranded on a desert island during WWII, and eventually rescued thanks to a coconut he had carved a distress message into. He later displayed this coconut in the Oval Office.
Lyndon B. Johnson did not become…
Lyndon B. Johnson did not become a rancher until he was 43, but was quite successful. He left his ranch to the American people as a historical site, providing it was maintained as “a working ranch, and not a sterile relic of the past.” To this day the National Park Service breeds Hereford cattle there.