1882 Grover Cleveland serves as mayor of Buffalo, NY.

1884 Cleveland is elected President.

1888 Benjamin Harrison defeated Cleveland in the Presidential Election.

1892 Cleveland is reelected President. He defeated Harrison.

1893 The US suffers from a severe economic depression.

1893 Cleveland sends federal troops to break the Pullman strike in Chicago.

1896 The Democratic Party doesn't nominate Cleveland for a third team.

1908 Grover Cleveland dies.

Grover Cleveland
1885 - 1889
1893 -1897
22nd and 24th President

Grover Cleveland was born in Caldwell, New Jersey on March 18, 1837. He was the only President born in New Jersey.

He was the only President born in New Jersey.

President Cleveland was the only President to serve non-consecutive terms.

During his first term his Vice President was Thomas Hendricks (1885). While at home in Indianapolis, Hendricks died in his sleep on November 25, 1885. Cleveland didn't have a Vice President from (1885-1889). During his second term his Vice President was Adlai E. Stevenson (1893-1897).

Grover Cleveland was the first President after the Civil War who had not served in the war. He was also the first Democratic President after the Civil War.

Cleveland personally answered the White House phone.

Cleveland was a Presbyterian.

Reform-minded Independent Republicans who were alienated by the Republican Party's choice of James G. Blaine backed Democrat Grover Cleveland for president. They were called Mugwumps, from the Algonquian Indian language meaning "big chief." The campaign generated into one of U.S. political histories most scurrilous. Cleveland narrowly won the election, getting just over 60,000 more popular votes than Blaine and 219 electoral votes to his 182.

Grover Cleveland was the sixth cousin once removed of Ulysses Grant

While a bachelor, a love child conceived while he was a young man in Buffalo was brought up during his presidential campaign. He admitted paternity and his honesty helped calm the issue, despite the popular campaign chant against him: "Ma, Ma, where's my Pa? Gone to the White House, Ha, Ha, Ha!" Cleveland narrowly defeated Blaine in the election.

On October 28, 1886, President Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty.

President Cleveland was one of three Presidents to get married while they were President. He is the only President whose wedding ceremony was held in the White House. (Tyler and Wilson were the other two.)

Grover Cleveland, 1888.
Credit: Library of Congress

President Grover Cleveland was a democrat

A 250-pound hulking figure, Grover Cleveland was the heaviest president up to that time.

While in the White House his family had pet mocking bird, canaries, and a 1 1/2 pound dog.

He was drafted during the Civil War but chose to purchase a replacement, a legal option at the time. He paid $150 for a Polish immigrant to serve in his place.

Map of the Presidential Election of 1888.
Department of the Interior

Grover Cleveland was the first president to have a child born in the White House. The Baby Ruth candy bar was named for her.

During July of 1893, Cleveland told the public he was going on a fishing trip, but he actually was having surgery for a cancerous growth in his mouth. The truth wasn't revealed until 1917.

Cleveland contracted and had surgery for cancer of the jaw during his second term, keeping it from the public and his pregnant young wife. It did not become public knowledge until 9 years after his death.

Grover Cleveland died in Princeton, New Jersey, on June 24, 1908. He was 71 years and 351 days old. He is buried in Princeton, New Jersey.

Quick Facts

22nd President
1885-1889

24th President
1895-1897

Born: Caldwell, NJ, March 18, 1837

Party: Democratic

Died: Princeton, NJ Jun24, 1908 age 71

References:

• The Presidents of the United States. 22 September 2004
• Davis, Gibbs and Ilus. David A. Johnson. Wackiest White House Pets. New York: Scholastic Press, October 2004
• James, Barber and Amy Pastan. Smithsonian Presidents and First Ladies. New York: DK Publishing, 2002
• Harnsberger, Caroline Thomas. Treasury of Presidential Quotations. Chicago: Follett Publishing Company, 1964
• Kane, Joseph Natan. Facts about the Presidents from Washington to Johnson. New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1964.
• National Park Service Web Site on Presidential Trivia: http://www.nps.gov/pub_aff/pres/trivia.htm.

Additional Sources:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents
http://www.historyplace.com/specials/portraits/presidents/index.html
www.freep.com
http://www.umkc.edu/imc/prestriv.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/4062/trivia.html
http://www.freep.com/news/inaug/trivia/index.htm
http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/

If you have comments or corrections, please send them to jim@anewadventure.org.