Presidents that were alive certain amounts of times ago today

[Plankton5165]

Alive 200 years ago after becoming president (February 24, 1821):
John Adams (age 85)
Thomas Jefferson (age 77)
James Madison (age 69)
James Monroe (age 62) (was the current president today 200 years ago)

Alive 150 years ago (February 24, 1871):
Millard Fillmore (age 71)
Andrew Johnson (age 61)
Ulysses S. Grant (age 48) (was the current president today 150 years ago)

Alive 100 years ago (February 24, 1921):
William Howard Taft (age 63) (despite being the heaviest ever.)
Woodrow Wilson (age 64)
Warren G. Harding (age 55) (was the current president today 100 years ago)

Alive 50 years ago (February 24, 1971):
Harry S. Truman (age 86)
Lyndon B. Johnson (age 62)
Richard Nixon (age 58) (was the current president today 50 years ago)

[Calthrina950]

Alive 200 years ago after becoming president (February 24, 1821):
John Adams (age 85)
Thomas Jefferson (age 77)
James Madison (age 69)
James Monroe (age 62) (was the current president today 200 years ago)

Alive 150 years ago (February 24, 1871):
Millard Fillmore (age 71)
Andrew Johnson (age 61)
Ulysses S. Grant (age 48) (was the current president today 150 years ago)

Alive 100 years ago (February 24, 1921):
William Howard Taft (age 63) (despite being the heaviest ever.)
Woodrow Wilson (age 64)
Warren G. Harding (age 55) (was the current president today 100 years ago)

Alive 50 years ago (February 24, 1971):
Harry S. Truman (age 86)
Lyndon B. Johnson (age 62)
Richard Nixon (age 58) (was the current president today 50 years ago)

This is wrong. Prior to the enactment of the 20th Amendment in 1933, Presidents were sworn in on March 4, not January 20. So Wilson, not Harding, was still President on February 24, 1921.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Interesting take on this. I love these kinds of threads.

[brucejoel99]

Alive 100 years ago (February 24, 1921):
William Howard Taft (age 63) (despite being the heaviest ever.)
Woodrow Wilson (age 64)
Warren G. Harding (age 55) (was the current president today 100 years ago)

Why you gotta do my boy Willie dirty like that?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Alive 100 years ago (February 24, 1921):
William Howard Taft (age 63) (despite being the heaviest ever.)
Woodrow Wilson (age 64)
Warren G. Harding (age 55) (was the current president today 100 years ago)

Why you gotta do my boy Willie dirty like that?

Back in the 1990s when you could actually get History on the History Channel. There was a Trains Unlimited episode about trains used by the President. One of my favorite stories from that is about how Taft forced the railroad to stop his train and add in a dining car so that he could have a full steak dinner for himself and his guests, AT TWO IN THE MORNING.

[President Johnson]

Nice list.

Both 48 years and 87 years ago, only sitting presidents Richard Nixon and Herbert Hoover were alive. However, in 1933, FDR was already president-elect after Calvin Coolidge died on January 5. It's also interesting that both presidents who died before, Johnson and Coolidge, ended their presidency in a year that ended with 9 after roughly one and a half term and died in January four years after leaving office.

[Samof94]

Nice list.

Both 48 years and 87 years ago, only sitting presidents Richard Nixon and Herbert Hoover were alive. However, in 1933, FDR was already president-elect after Calvin Coolidge died on January 5. It's also interesting that both presidents who died before, Johnson and Coolidge, ended their presidency in a year that ended with 9 after roughly one and a half term and died in January four years after leaving office.

Quite true
Adams was also the only living President at one point.

[Calthrina950]

Nice list.

Both 48 years and 87 years ago, only sitting presidents Richard Nixon and Herbert Hoover were alive. However, in 1933, FDR was already president-elect after Calvin Coolidge died on January 5. It's also interesting that both presidents who died before, Johnson and Coolidge, ended their presidency in a year that ended with 9 after roughly one and a half term and died in January four years after leaving office.

Three times during the 20th century, there was a period in which there were no living ex-Presidents: June 1908-March 1909 (Grover Cleveland's death to William H. Taft's inauguration), January-March 1933 (Calvin Coolidge's death to Franklin D. Roosevelt's first inauguration), and January 1973-August 1974 (Lyndon B. Johnson's death to Richard Nixon's resignation). Johnson died just two days after Nixon's second inauguration, and on the same day that Roe v. Wade was handed down. Had he won reelection in 1968 and died at the same time as he did in OTL, Johnson would have had a very short presidential retirement. But then again, given the perilous state of his health, he might very well have died sooner and while still in office in such a scenario.

[brucejoel99]

Nice list.

Both 48 years and 87 years ago, only sitting presidents Richard Nixon and Herbert Hoover were alive. However, in 1933, FDR was already president-elect after Calvin Coolidge died on January 5. It's also interesting that both presidents who died before, Johnson and Coolidge, ended their presidency in a year that ended with 9 after roughly one and a half term and died in January four years after leaving office.

Three times during the 20th century, there was a period in which there were no living ex-Presidents: June 1908-March 1909 (Grover Cleveland's death to William H. Taft's inauguration), January-March 1933 (Calvin Coolidge's death to Franklin D. Roosevelt's first inauguration), and January 1973-August 1974 (Lyndon B. Johnson's death to Richard Nixon's resignation). Johnson died just two days after Nixon's second inauguration, and on the same day that Roe v. Wade was handed down. Had he won reelection in 1968 and died at the same time as he did in OTL, Johnson would have had a very short presidential retirement. But then again, given the perilous state of his health, he might very well have died sooner and while still in office in such a scenario.

Of course, his health was only so perilous at the end because he picked up smoking again almost immediately after he left office (& I say almost immediately in the literal sense: it was on the AF1 flight from DC back home to TX). Had he been re-elected & continued to receive the best medical care on the face of the Earth, who knows what would've happened?

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Nice list.

Both 48 years and 87 years ago, only sitting presidents Richard Nixon and Herbert Hoover were alive. However, in 1933, FDR was already president-elect after Calvin Coolidge died on January 5. It's also interesting that both presidents who died before, Johnson and Coolidge, ended their presidency in a year that ended with 9 after roughly one and a half term and died in January four years after leaving office.

Three times during the 20th century, there was a period in which there were no living ex-Presidents: June 1908-March 1909 (Grover Cleveland's death to William H. Taft's inauguration), January-March 1933 (Calvin Coolidge's death to Franklin D. Roosevelt's first inauguration), and January 1973-August 1974 (Lyndon B. Johnson's death to Richard Nixon's resignation). Johnson died just two days after Nixon's second inauguration, and on the same day that Roe v. Wade was handed down. Had he won reelection in 1968 and died at the same time as he did in OTL, Johnson would have had a very short presidential retirement. But then again, given the perilous state of his health, he might very well have died sooner and while still in office in such a scenario.

Of course, his health was only so perilous at the end because he picked up smoking again almost immediately after he left office (& I say almost immediately in the literal sense: it was on the AF1 flight from DC back home to TX). Had he been re-elected & continued to receive the best medical care on the face of the Earth, who knows what would've happened?

Your arguments are persuasive, it's reasonable to believe he'd live longer if he stayed in office sooner...

[Samof94]

There was a period when Hoover was alive and JFK was dead.

[Plankton5165]

Alive 200 years ago after becoming president (February 24, 1821):
John Adams (age 85)
Thomas Jefferson (age 77)
James Madison (age 69)
James Monroe (age 62) (was the current president today 200 years ago)

Alive 150 years ago (February 24, 1871):
Millard Fillmore (age 71)
Andrew Johnson (age 61)
Ulysses S. Grant (age 48) (was the current president today 150 years ago)

Alive 100 years ago (February 24, 1921):
William Howard Taft (age 63) (despite being the heaviest ever.)
Woodrow Wilson (age 64)
Warren G. Harding (age 55) (was the current president today 100 years ago)

Alive 50 years ago (February 24, 1971):
Harry S. Truman (age 86)
Lyndon B. Johnson (age 62)
Richard Nixon (age 58) (was the current president today 50 years ago)

This is wrong. Prior to the enactment of the 20th Amendment in 1933, Presidents were sworn in on March 4, not January 20. So Wilson, not Harding, was still President on February 24, 1921.

Oops. I forgot.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

There was a period when Hoover was alive and JFK was dead.

One of the more ridiculous notions that the conspiracy theorists latched onto was citing a dry run funeral procession as proof of advance knowledge of JFK's death. In truth, this was advance preparation in case Hoover passed away since he was in declining health and pushing 90.

[President Johnson]

Nice list.

Both 48 years and 87 years ago, only sitting presidents Richard Nixon and Herbert Hoover were alive. However, in 1933, FDR was already president-elect after Calvin Coolidge died on January 5. It's also interesting that both presidents who died before, Johnson and Coolidge, ended their presidency in a year that ended with 9 after roughly one and a half term and died in January four years after leaving office.

Three times during the 20th century, there was a period in which there were no living ex-Presidents: June 1908-March 1909 (Grover Cleveland's death to William H. Taft's inauguration), January-March 1933 (Calvin Coolidge's death to Franklin D. Roosevelt's first inauguration), and January 1973-August 1974 (Lyndon B. Johnson's death to Richard Nixon's resignation). Johnson died just two days after Nixon's second inauguration, and on the same day that Roe v. Wade was handed down. Had he won reelection in 1968 and died at the same time as he did in OTL, Johnson would have had a very short presidential retirement. But then again, given the perilous state of his health, he might very well have died sooner and while still in office in such a scenario.

Of course, his health was only so perilous at the end because he picked up smoking again almost immediately after he left office (& I say almost immediately in the literal sense: it was on the AF1 flight from DC back home to TX). Had he been re-elected & continued to receive the best medical care on the face of the Earth, who knows what would've happened?

In my TL from two years ago, I had him reelected in 1968 and let him die in 1975. But yes, he may have lived longer if he stayed in office, despite the stress.

What's also remarkable that LBJ died five days before the Paris Accords were signed. But he knew about the agreement because Nixon stayed in touch with him.

[brucejoel99]

Nice list.

Both 48 years and 87 years ago, only sitting presidents Richard Nixon and Herbert Hoover were alive. However, in 1933, FDR was already president-elect after Calvin Coolidge died on January 5. It's also interesting that both presidents who died before, Johnson and Coolidge, ended their presidency in a year that ended with 9 after roughly one and a half term and died in January four years after leaving office.

Three times during the 20th century, there was a period in which there were no living ex-Presidents: June 1908-March 1909 (Grover Cleveland's death to William H. Taft's inauguration), January-March 1933 (Calvin Coolidge's death to Franklin D. Roosevelt's first inauguration), and January 1973-August 1974 (Lyndon B. Johnson's death to Richard Nixon's resignation). Johnson died just two days after Nixon's second inauguration, and on the same day that Roe v. Wade was handed down. Had he won reelection in 1968 and died at the same time as he did in OTL, Johnson would have had a very short presidential retirement. But then again, given the perilous state of his health, he might very well have died sooner and while still in office in such a scenario.

And speaking of very short presidential retirements, James K. Polk still holds the record for the shortest post-presidency at only 103 days. Had the only change in LBJ's life been a re-election, with everything else staying the same, LBJ beating him by 101 days surely would've allowed him to claim the (admittedly dubious) record for all time.

[Plankton5165]

Nice list.

Both 48 years and 87 years ago, only sitting presidents Richard Nixon and Herbert Hoover were alive. However, in 1933, FDR was already president-elect after Calvin Coolidge died on January 5. It's also interesting that both presidents who died before, Johnson and Coolidge, ended their presidency in a year that ended with 9 after roughly one and a half term and died in January four years after leaving office.

Three times during the 20th century, there was a period in which there were no living ex-Presidents: June 1908-March 1909 (Grover Cleveland's death to William H. Taft's inauguration), January-March 1933 (Calvin Coolidge's death to Franklin D. Roosevelt's first inauguration), and January 1973-August 1974 (Lyndon B. Johnson's death to Richard Nixon's resignation). Johnson died just two days after Nixon's second inauguration, and on the same day that Roe v. Wade was handed down. Had he won reelection in 1968 and died at the same time as he did in OTL, Johnson would have had a very short presidential retirement. But then again, given the perilous state of his health, he might very well have died sooner and while still in office in such a scenario.

And speaking of very short presidential retirements, James K. Polk still holds the record for the shortest post-presidency at only 103 days. Had the only change in LBJ's life been a re-election, with everything else staying the same, LBJ beating him by 101 days surely would've allowed him to claim the (admittedly dubious) record for all time.

Of just TWO days.

If you're saying that, then had the following presidents won two terms, they would've died in office: Polk, Arthur, and Coolidge.

[Samof94]

There was a period when Hoover was alive and JFK was dead.

One of the more ridiculous notions that the conspiracy theorists latched onto was citing a dry run funeral procession as proof of advance knowledge of JFK's death. In truth, this was advance preparation in case Hoover passed away since he was in declining health and pushing 90.

JFK had health problems and likely would have died long before the 90’s, let alone the 00’s.