How much do you know about the United States presidents?
We have the perfect mix of trivia questions to test your knowledge.
These trivia questions are specifically designed to challenge your knowledge about the presidents of the United States.
Whether you are a casual observer of politics or a student of Oval Office history, we think you will enjoy these trivia questions.
Before we dive into more questions, we want to tell you about Water Cooler Trivia.
Our trivia quiz platform is designed to get users talking, laughing and learning together.
It's ideal for company events, team building activities and social gatherings.
We'll send weekly trivia quizzes straight to your inbox.
The best bit?
We're currently offering a four-week free trial with no further commitments.
214 U.S. Presidents Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated For 2024)
- A deal is made to make Washington, DC the nation's new capital in "The Room Where It Happens," a song in what smash hit Broadway musical?
Answer: Hamilton
- Harry Truman is the first of several U.S. Presidents named in what "flaming" 1989 number-one hit song by Billy Joel?
Answer: We Didn't Start the Fire
- The 1942 film "Desperate Journey" stars Errol Flynn and what future U.S. President as downed Allied airmen trying to repatriate a Lockheed Martin Hudson that had been captured by Germans?
Answer: Ronald Reagan
- Also known for playing Thanos in the Avengers movies, what actor played President George W. Bush in the 2008 film "W.?"
Answer: Josh Brolin
- Played by Harrison Ford, one of the White House's most popular fictional residents is President James Marshall, who attempts to retake the title plane from terrorists in what 1997 film?
Answer: Air Force One
- A September 28, 2021 ceremony commemorated the breaking of ground for construction of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in what U.S. city?
Answer: Chicago
- Rated by the Wall Street Journal as #2 on the list of best fictional Presidents, Josiah "Jed" Bartlet was the POTUS played by Martin Sheen on what long-running series?
Answer: The West Wing
- Bill Clinton is quite the jazz musician. His talent for which instrument got him the nickname “The MTV President,” and is probably one of the less controversial facts about him (unless you have something against smooth riffs)?
Answer: Saxophone
- According to legend, Delaware gets the nickname "Diamond State" because it was once called "a jewel among the states" by what third U.S. President?
Answer: Thomas Jefferson
- Which two presidential candidates participated in the first televised presidential debate in 1960?
Answer: JFK and Nixon
- After losing the presidency in 1980, Jimmy Carter started the Carter Center, an organization aiming to end human suffering, in connection with what “E” private research University in Atlanta, Georgia?
Answer: Emory University
- The holiday now known as Presidents' Day originated as a day of remembrance for what U.S. President, who died in 1799 and was born on February 22, 1732?
Answer: George Washington
- Which 37th US president began to normalize relations with China, culminating in his 1972 visit?
Answer: Richard Nixon
- In a 2012 speech, Barack Obama compared Boulder City's Copper Mountain Solar Facility to what ginormous hydroelectric piece of infrastructure straddling the Arizona-Nevada border?
Answer: Hoover Dam
- The No Child Left Behind Act was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and was signed into law by what U.S. President?
Answer: George W Bush
- "Naval Support Facility Thurmont" in Maryland's Catoctin Mountain Park is the official name of what presidential retreat?
Answer: Camp David
- Abraham Lincoln was the first elected president for what American political party?
Answer: Republicans
- Room 214 of what Washington, DC hotel has been converted to "The Scandal Room," with decor that includes newspaper headlines about Richard Nixon's resignation?
Answer: The Watergate Hotel
- Which U.S. president spent the longest time in office? This man served in the office until his death at age 63.
Answer: Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- Riding the train every workday to Washington, D.C. for 36 years beginning in the 1970s led to what enduring nickname for President Joe Biden?
Answer: Amtrak Joe
- George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush are one of two pairs of presidents who were father and son. What is the last name of the other pair?
Answer: Adams
- Referring to then-future president John Adams, the songs "Sit Down, John" and "But, Mr. Adams" come from what Broadway musical named for an important year in American history?
Answer: 1776
- In 1949, which president officially made June 14th Flag Day in the United States?
Answer: Harry Truman
- "11/22/63" is a novel in which a time traveler attempts to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy, by what American author who's associated more with Maine than with Washington, DC?
Answer: Stephen King
- What then-presidential candidate is famous for having uttered the phrase "Read my lips, no new taxes!" at the 1988 Republican convention before seeing taxes increase under his presidency?
Answer: George H. W. Bush
- Who is the oldest person to assume the United States presidency, having been born before four of his predecessors?
Answer: Joe Biden
- Which president has their presidential library located in Atlanta, Georgia in a facility that features a replica of the Oval Office?
Answer: Jimmy Carter
- What ninth President had the shortest term in office—one month±but also the longest inaugural speech of any president in American history, at a whopping 105 minutes?
Answer: Harrison
- Supposedly, John Hinkley Jr. was trying to impress Jodie Foster when he attempted to assassinate which president in 1981?
Answer: Reagan
- In 1943, who became the first POTUS to use an airplane to do some official presidential business when he took one to have a secret meeting with Winston Churchill?
Answer: Franklin D Roosevelt
- What is the name of the town that is the county seat of Skagit County, Washington? It shares its name with that of President George Washington's famed Virginia estate.
Answer: Mount Vernon
- Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison used the pen name "Publius" to publish what set of 85 essays in New York newspapers in 1787 and 1788?
Answer: The Federalist Papers
- Which president signed legislation to create the Social Security system?
Answer: Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- Jimmy Carter, America's 39th President, was famous for being a farmer of what type of legumes before he was POTUS?
Answer: Peanut
- George Washington’s Vice President suggested several titles for the President, including “His Elective Majesty” and “His Highness, the President of the United States of America and the Protector of their Liberties.” What was the name of Washington’s VP (who would become the 2nd President of the United States)?
Answer: John Adams
- In 1872, Ulysses Grant established what place as the U.S.'s first National Park?
Answer: Yellowstone
- Named for Judiciary Chairman Andrew Volstead, the 1919 Volstead Act overrode President Woodrow Wilson’s veto to what national act that was later repealed by the 21st amendment?
Answer: Prohibition
- In 1870, which president who was a commanding general during the Civil War signed legislation to make Thanksgiving, Independence Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day federal holidays?
Answer: Ulysses S. Grant
- Often rated as one of the worst fictional presidents due to his inability to control an alien invasion, President James Dale was portrayed by Jack Nicholson in what 1996 comic sci-fi film?
Answer: Mars Attacks!
- A military program announced by President Reagan in March 1983 promoted funding for lasers and particle beam weapons and was formally known as the Strategic Defense Initiative. However, what two-word name was the program (somewhat mockingly) nicknamed by the public?
Answer: Star Wars
- He might have claimed he wasn’t a crook, but legend has it that which president made more money playing poker during his Navy days than he got from his military paycheck?
Answer: Nixon
- Before he became the 39th POTUS, who spent the better part of his young, pre-political life running his family’s peanut farm in Georgia?
Answer: Jimmy Carter
- "O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done" is the opening line of a Walt Whitman poem which serves as an extended metaphor about the demise of what U.S. president?
Answer: Abraham Lincoln
- "Our American Cousin" is the comedic play seen by Abe Lincoln on the last night of his life. He had tickets to this show at what theater?
Answer: Ford's Theatre
- Abraham Lincoln is the rightmost face on Mount Rushmore. What president is depicted next to his image?
Answer: Theodore Roosevelt
- The FDA's first commissioner, Harvey Washington Wiley, began serving in 1907, and was appointed by what President?
Answer: Theodore Roosevelt
- Andrew Johnson never went to school but still managed to become a politician. He moved up from VP to POTUS after the assassination of which president?
Answer: Lincoln
- The U.S. president's airplane is typically known as "Air Force One"; what similar callsign is typically given to a helicopter carrying the president?
Answer: Marine One
- Bill Pullman played the role of President Thomas J. Whitmore, a former fighter pilot and Gulf War veteran, who delivered a highly acclaimed fictional speech in what 1990s action movie?
Answer: Independence Day
- Cartoonist Jim Davis named his most famous creation after his grandfather who was named after what 19th century U.S. President?
Answer: Garfield the Cat (James Garfield)
- Which three-named president was the only one to also serve on the Supreme Court (as the 10th Chief Justice from 1921 to 1930)?
Answer: William Howard Taft
- North Dakota's Elkhorn Ranch, the Sagamore Hill estate on Long Island, and a townhouse on E. 20th St. in Manhattan are all sites associated with what former president, and which are now administered as historic sites by the U.S. National Park Service?
Answer: Teddy Roosevelt
- Obviously coming after FDR's 3+ terms as the head of the U.S., what president introduced and secured the passage of the legislation that establishes a two-term limit for US Presidents?
Answer: Harry Truman
- The "Father of the Constitution" (he organized the Constitutional Convention and wrote the Bill of Rights) was our shortest president, standing a mere five feet four inches tall. Which president was he?
Answer: James Madison
- What 26th president, born in New York City (Manhattan), assumed office after William McKinley was assassinated (first and last name required)?
Answer: Theodore Roosevelt
- In 1995, the rock band known as the Presidents of the United States of America had a hit in which they announced that they were "movin' to the country, gonna eat a lot of" what stone fruits?
Answer: Peaches
- For which body part was Donald Trump given medical deferment during the Vietnam War?
Answer: Foot
- Up to 2023, how many U.S. presidents have born in the state of Florida?
Answer: Zero
- Claudia Sheinbaum remains the frontrunner in the 2024 presidential election in what country, whose current office holder is prohibited for running again because presidents are limited to a single six-year term called a "sexenio?"
Answer: Mexico
- Which U.S. president, whose middle name was only one letter, is the only president to ever commission use of a nuclear weapon?
Answer: Harry S Truman
- What "K" man served as the Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford? He was a Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany with his family in 1938 and he later received a controversial Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 after negotiating a ceasefire in Vietnam.
Answer: Henry Kissinger
- The Warren Commission officially claimed a "single-bullet theory" for the assassination of President Kennedy. Conspiracy theorists / detractors claim that another bullet was fired nearby. Now slang for conspiracy theories broadly, what is the name for this alternative firing location?
Answer: Grassy Knoll
- One of several U.S. state capitals named after a president, Jefferson City is the capital of what Midwestern state?
Answer: Missouri
- Serving as the 13th U.S. president from 1850 until 1853, Millard Fillmore was the last president to represent which now-defunct political party that sounds like a costume accessory used on one's head?
Answer: Whig Party
- John Tyler opposed President Andrew Jackson during what 1832-1833 “N” crisis of US history, where South Carolina declared tariffs to be unconstitutional and void in the state?
Answer: Nullification
- On March 13, 2022, what former U.S. president announced that he had tested positive for COVID, tweeting that "it's a reminder to get vaccinated if you haven't already?"
Answer: Barack Obama
- Kentucky-based Falls City Brewing Company capitalized on the 1977 political climate by releasing “Billy Beer.” The beer was named after and heavily promoted by the brother of what sitting U.S. president?
Answer: Jimmy Carter
- When Dwight Eisenhower started his first presidential term in 1953, he was given what Secret Service code name starting with “P,” that’s also the capital city of a New England U.S. state?
Answer: Providence
- Cincinnati is the birthplace of what 27th President of the United States, the only person to have been both President and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?
Answer: William Howard Taft
- What man turned down a Supreme Court appointment and became the sixth U.S. President 14 years later?
Answer: John Quincy Adams
- Charles Fairbanks, the 26th vice president of the United States was born in a log cabin just outside Delaware, Ohio in 1852. For what man did this man serve as VP?
Answer: Theodore Roosevelt
- “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too” was the campaign slogan for John Tyler and which politician who would become the 9th POTUS (though, he only served for one month…)?
Answer: William Henry Harrison
- Franklin Pierce's presidency was irreparably damaged by the Osten Manifesto, a dispatch that suggested the U.S. intended to annex what island?
Answer: Cuba
- The close results of the 1948 election created the unusual scenario in which Harry Truman won the election, but the Chicago Tribune speculated that what Republican governor of New York was victorious? A celebratory Truman held up this headline while celebrating his win.
Answer: Thomas Dewey
- Who is the only US President to serve two non-consecutive terms in office?
Answer: Grover Cleveland
- It's probably an urban legend that which U.S. president, who was six feet tall and 350 pounds at his heaviest, once got stuck in a bathtub at the White House?
Answer: William Howard Taft
- What screenwriter, also known for other presidential productions, wrote 1995's The American President?
Answer: Aaron Sorkin
- Martin Van Buren holds the odd distinction of being the only president to speak English as a second language. Like many in his hometown of Kinderhook, New York, what was Van Buren's first language?
Answer: Dutch
- Up until 1901, the White House was known by what on-the-nose two-word name?
Answer: President's House
- Who was the only U.S. president to have a PhD in political science? He earned it from Johns Hopkins University in 1886.
Answer: Woodrow Wilson
- Established by President John F. Kennedy in 1963, Elvis Presley, Babe Ruth, Tiger Woods and Rush Limbaugh received what prestigious medal by President Donald Trump during his presidential term?
Answer: Presidential Medal of Freedom
- Ronald Reagan very briefly relinquished the U.S. presidency in 1985, during a surgery to remove cancerous polyps from what organ?
Answer: Colon / Large intestine
- The 2nd President of the U.S. belonged to 3 different political parties during his life. Name 1 of them.
Answer: Pro-Administration or Federalist or Democratic-Republican
- It has been tradition for the Irish taoiseach to give the U.S. president shamrocks on St. Patrick's Day since ambassador John Hearne gave them to which US president in 1952?
Answer: Harry Truman
- Which president has the largest presidential library as measured by square footage? It's located in Austin, TX
Answer: Lyndon
- Who was the first President to be born a United States citizen? That's really him pictured below.
Answer: Martin Van Buren
- Which U.S president had the largest shoe size? (hint: It's not the one who was so fat he got stuck in a tub, but good guess!)
Answer: Harding
- 10 years after his death, several criminals attempted to steal and ransom Lincoln's remains but were caught by what federal law enforcement agency that is currently nested within the Department of Homeland Security?
Answer: Secret Service
- What Richmond cemetery, which shares its name with a far more famous L.A. location, is the resting place of two U.S. Presidents (James Monroe and John Tyler) and one Confederate President (Jefferson Davis)?
Answer: Hollywood Cemetery
- What “A” national cemetery, across the Potomac from Washington, D.C., owned by the U.S. Army and established in 1864, has buried the nation’s military deaths since the Civil War, including numerous former presidents and their families?
Answer: Arlington National Cemetery
- Which former president of U.S. with the middle name Rudolph is the only person to be neither elected to the post of president nor that of vice president?
Answer: Gerald Ford
- Who was the first president to broadcast from the White House? He did so by radio.
Answer: Coolidge
- On September 5, 1975, an attempt on the life of which president was made by a member of the Manson Family cult in Capitol Park, Sacramento?
Answer: Gerald Ford
- Which president was the first—and only—to hold a patent when he received one for inventing a boat lifting device (albeit one that was never made)?
Answer: Abraham Lincoln
- Franklin Pierce is surely one of history's lesse- known presidents, but he did sign the bill acquiring what piece of land in modern-day Arizona and New Mexico from Mexico, the last addition to the continental United States?
Answer: Herbert Hoover
- Who was the 25th POTUS and the last president to have served in The Civil War? (Hint: He was assassinated in 1901)
Answer: William McKinley
- Who was the last person to become President of the United States after serving as Secretary of State? He is commonly referred to as one of the worst Presidents in history.
Answer: James Buchanan
- How many U.S. presidents wore glasses in their official portraits?
Answer: Three
- Herbert Hoover was the first U.S. president born west of the Mississippi. Despite being associated with the state of California, he wasn't born THAT far west of the Mississippi—just thirty miles away, in fact, in the town of West Branch in what state?
Answer: Iowa
- The name of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's beloved terrier, who lived at the White House until 1945, has a name that's made up of two notes on the solfege ("do-re-mi") scale. What was the dog's name?
Answer: Fala
- Who is the last U.S. president to have no former presidents alive for a part of his term? This president’s predecessor died just after he took the oath of office for his second term, leaving no other presidents alive.
Answer: Richard Nixon
- 21 different U.S. states have had at least one U.S. president born there. However, how many of the first 46 U.S. presidents was born in the state of Delaware?
Answer: Zero
- Only two U.S. presidents have won elections which were considered uncontested. One was George Washington. Who was the other? The year of this president’s uncontested election ends in the number “0”
Answer: James Monroe
- In 1846, future president Zachary Taylor won a battle in the Mexican-American War campaign at what battle site, about 8 miles away from modern Brownsville, Texas? A city with the same name would be the site of Stanford University in California.
Answer: Palo Alto
- What sixth U.S. president, oddly enough, had a pet alligator that lived in the unfinished East Room of the White House?
Answer: John Quincy Adams
- Which amendment to the United States Constitution coincidentally (fitting) establishes a limit of two terms for the office of presidency?
Answer: 22nd Amendment
- Al Gore sought the Democratic nomination for U.S. president in 1988 as the junior senator from which state?
Answer: Tennessee
- The Nineteenth Amendment, which granted women the right to vote in the U.S., was passed more than 40 shameful years after the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled explicitly against early women suffragettes. Who was president when the Nineteenth Amendment passed?
Answer: Woodrow Wilson
- Which POTUS found himself in the proverbial doghouse after Life magazine published a photo of him holding his pet beagle (who was, in fact, named “Him”) by his ears in 1964?
Answer: Lyndon B Johnson
- What is the word commonly found during election time which evolved from Latin words for "upon" and "lean on" or "lie down"? In electoral matters, the word is often simply abbreviated with the lowercase letter "i".
Answer: Incumbent
- Despite housing presidents for many decades, what historic June 2, 1886 event was the first occurrence of its kind at the White House?
Answer: President's Marriage (Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom)
- What U.S. president had the middle name of Birchard? When referred to in speaking or writing, this president's middle initial is frequently included.
Answer: Rutherford B Hayes
- The contested 1876 election of which president marked the end of Reconstruction due to the backroom Compromise of 1877, which ensured which president's election and averted a constitutional crisis?
Answer: Rutherford B Hayes
- What 20th century U.S. president escaped two assassination attempts within 17 days in September 1975?
Answer: Gerald Ford
- The presidential library and resting place of what U.S. president are located in Independence, Missouri?
Answer: Truman
- What US president of the 1920s, a vice president who rose in position when his president died of a heart attack, was known to not talk at parties, and was given the nickname “Silent?”
Answer: Calvin Coolidge
- What is the surname of the U.S. president whose forename comes last alphabetically?
Answer: Taylor
- Before he became POTUS himself in 1929, who was appointed as the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) during Woodrow Wilson’s presidency?
Answer: Herbert Hoover
- One president wore a lock of Lincoln’s hair during his inauguration. This man was a long-time admirer of Lincoln, and as a child had watched Lincoln’s funeral procession pass by his house in New York. Who was this?
Answer: Teddy Roosevelt
- Who is the only U.S. president to have the letter "M" as their middle initial
Answer: Richard Nixon
- In 1975, which president held his daughter Susan’s high school prom at the White House?
Answer: Gerald Ford
- Who was the last US President that was born in the 19th century?
Answer: Dwight Eisenhower
- Abraham Lincoln was famously born in Kentucky and lived much of his adult life in Illinois. However, he spent most of his childhood and early teenage years in what third state?
Answer: Indiana
- Who is the only U.S. president to have a PhD? It was in Political Science at Johns Hopkins.
Answer: Woodrow Wilson
- In June 2020, what Ivy League school removed Woodrow Wilson's name from its school of public and international affairs because of his history of racism?
Answer: Princeton University
- Before he was replaced by Susan B. Anthony in 1979, what 34th U.S. president was on the dollar coin?
Answer: Dwight D Eisenhower
- Although he had graduated from West Point and served with distinction in the Mexican–American War, this future President abruptly resigned his army commission in 1854 and returned to his family, living with them in poverty for seven years before re-enlisting. Who is he?
Answer: Ulysses S. Grant
- What “A” vice president of Richard Nixon, a former Maryland governor who served as VP from 1969-1973, was forced to resign due to charges of income tax evasion?
Answer: Spiro Agnew
- What Supreme Court justice was the first to preside over a presidential impeachment trial? This man previously served in Lincoln's cabinet and a large bank is named for him.
Answer: Salmon Chase
- George Washington famously never fathered any children. Name one of the four other U.S. Presidents that never fathered any children?
Answer: James Polk, Warren Harding, James Buchanan, and Andrew Jackson
- What 37th president, born in Yorba Linda, is the only president to have been born in California?
Answer: Richard Nixon
- One of Grover Cleveland's major acts as president was to order the Army to intervene in the Pullman Strike of 1894. The Pullman strikers were workers in what specific industry?
Answer: Railway
- One of only four U.S. presidents never to have had a vice-president, which president was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, on December 29, 1808?
Answer: Andrew Johnson
- VP Calvin Coolidge became President in 1923 after what president died of cardiac arrest while his wife was reading him a magazine article in bed?
Answer: Warren Harding
- Which alliteratively named U.S. president became the first, in 1872, to be born on Independence Day?
Answer: Calvin Coolidge
- What is the only surname that is shared between two U.S. presidents who were not directly related?
Answer: Johnson
- A landmark moment in the history of electronic voting in U.S. elections was when the Reform Party used "I-Voting" (internet voting) to select their presidential candidate in 1996. Unsurprisingly, they selected what man who had founded the party one year prior?
Answer: Ross Perot
- What was the name of the commission established to investigate the JFK assassination?
Answer: Warren Commission
- What actor, also a star of "Sideways" and "Cinderella Man," won an Emmy for his portrayal of the titular president in the 2008 HBO miniseries "John Adams?"
Answer: Paul Giamatti
- What president's surname derives not from a Midwestern city, but an area in the northeastern part of England?
Answer: Grover Cleveland
- What 20th century president's inaugural address introduced his concept of a Great Society? "We worked for two centuries to climb this peak of prosperity. But we are only at the beginning of the road to the Great Society. Ahead now is a summit where freedom from the wants of the body can help fulfill the needs of the spirit."
Answer: LBJ
- Aside from Donald Trump, who was the only other U.S. president who had been divorced?
Answer: Ronald Reagan
- In 2003, John Ashcroft sang “Let The Eagle Soar” while serving what non-musical role in the administration of George W. Bush?
Answer: Attorney General
- How many U.S. [residents have been primarily affiliated with Michigan?
Answer: One
- Disappointed office seeker Charles Guiteau shot what US President (and native Ohioan) in 1881? Although the wound was not immediately fatal, its subsequent infections resulted in this man's death.
Answer: James Garfield
- Dick Cheney served in what position on the cabinet of President George H. W. Bush?
Answer: Secretary of Defense
- Weird that it happened twice, but two presidents kept alligators in the White House: first, John Adams. The son of which 1930s president had not one, but two pet alligators?
Answer: Herbert Hoover
- Who was the first president to broadcast a televised address? It occurred on a compact black-and-white screen from the New York World's Fair.
Answer: Franklin Roosevelt
- Which president (the 8th) is mostly remembered for mishandling the Panic of 1837—an economic crisis that spawned a depression?
Answer: Martin Van Buren
- Calvin Coolidge served as governor of what state before ascending to the presidency? Today, Coolidge Corner is a stop on the green line of the capital city's transit system.
Answer: Massachusetts
- What 19th century president fathered 15 children? Unsurprisingly, that makes him the record-holder for U.S. presidents.
Answer: John Tyler
- Which president was elected on the slogan "Vote Yourself a Farm" based upon their support for the Homestead Act?
Answer: Abraham Lincoln
- What Kentucky politician unsuccessfully ran for president 5 times in the 19th century? Although he served as a Senator, Secretary of State, and the Speaker of the House, he was never able to ascend to the nation's highest political office.
Answer: Henry Clay
- What British man received two Oscar nominations for acting roles in the 1990s for playing two different American presidents? The presidents were Richard Nixon and John Quincy Adams.
Answer: Anthony Hopkins
- Including a container for a brewed beverage, what is the name of the scandal that rocked the Harding administration in the 1920s, involving bribery to obtain leases of Navy petroleum reserves without competitive bidding?
Answer: Teapot Dome
- The Washington Nationals have a famous 4th-inning promotion in which presidential mascots participate in a running race. What U.S. president has won the highest number of races (through the 2018 season) with over 300 victories?
Answer: Abe Lincoln
- What famously witty U.S. president famously said the following? "I don't like that man. I must get to know him better."
Answer: Abraham Lincoln
- Which later-assassinated president was the only sitting member of the House of Representatives to be elected to the presidency?
Answer: James Garfield
- What U.S. president was distantly related (as evidenced by his name) to a military general and surveyor who founded a city that today is the 51st largest in the U.S. by population and the 2nd largest in its state?
Answer: Grover Cleveland
- After failing to receive the Whig nomination in 1852, former president Millard Fillmore ran for president representing what nativist and anti-Catholic party in 1856, finishing third?
Answer: Know Nothing Party
- In a 1952 speech, Richard Nixon denied using political contributions for personal expenses, but famously said he'd keep what cocker spaniel given as a gift?
Answer: Checkers
- There has only been one grandfather/grandson duo to both serve as president in the U.S. Who was the grandson?
Answer: Benjamin Harrison
- Who was the president of the United States when the U.S. annexed Texas?
Answer: James K. Polk
- John F. Kennedy won a Pulitzer Prize in 1957 for a book that highlighted eight times a US Senator stood up against extreme political and social pressure to do what they felt was right. What was the name of the book?
Answer: Profiles in Courage
- What 15th president is the only president to ever be from Pennsylvania?
Answer: James Buchanan
- Ellen Sirleaf Johnson became the first female head of state in African history when she was elected president of what country in 2006?
Answer: Liberia
- In 1879, which president became the first to have a telephone in the White House?
Answer: Rutherford B. Hayes
- "Seward's Folly" was the contemporaneous nickname for The Alaska Purchase in 1867, which was technically a treaty with the Russian Empire later signed by what president?
Answer: Andrew Johnson
- Who was the shortest US President? Maybe a bit tough to verify, but it's frequently reported that this man never weighed more than 100 lbs.
Answer: James Madison
- How many different U.S. presidents are mentioned in Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire?" We need the exact number on this one.
Answer: 5
- Fala, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's beloved Scottish terrier, is buried a short walk from his master at the FDR Presidential Library in what New York town on the Hudson River?
Answer: Hyde Park
- Mar-a-Lago wasn't the first "Winter White House." What President spent his snowy seasons at the "Little White House" in Warm Springs, Georgia?
Answer: Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- Despite his well-documented passion for wine, what U.S. president wrote that coffee was his “favorite drink of the civilized world"?
Answer: Thomas Jefferson
- Which president one the only election in United States history in which the candidate with the most electoral votes actually lost?
Answer: John Quincy Adams
- Serving in office from 1850 to 1853 as a Whig, who was the last U.S. president to be neither a Democrat nor a Republican?
Answer: Millard Fillmore
- NASA was, unsurprisingly, established when an American president signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act. Which American president was this?
Answer: Dwight Eisenhower
- How many future U.S. presidents signed the Declaration of Independence?
Answer: Two
- Harry Truman allegedly woke up at 5am each morning in order to practice what instrument for 2 hours before starting his day?
Answer: Piano
- Seven U.S. presidents were born in Ohio and an eighth is claimed by the state as well because he grew up there (William Henry Harrison). Of these eight total presidents, who most recently served as the leader of the U.S.?
Answer: Warren Harding
- In 1881, President James Garfield was shot by an assassin but didn’t die right away—it actually took 79 days. Upon his death, who was sworn in as the 21st POTUS?
Answer: Chester A. Arthur
- Which former mayor of Buffalo became the first Democrat elected president after the Civil War? He would go on to serve his full term...and then some.
Answer: Grover Cleveland
- The resume of what DMV native includes stints as a speechwriter for presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, film actor, anti-evolution filmmaker, and game show host?
Answer: Ben Stein
- While working as a lawyer in Illinois in 1858, Abraham Lincoln produced what two-word manual to prove that the witness testimony of seeing a crime in the moonlight could not have been true? Lincoln ultimately won the case.
Answer: Farmers Almanac
- Who is the only U.S. president to claim New Jersey as his home state? This person also famously served in a non-political career in this state.
Answer: Woodrow Wilson
- What scandal-ridden early 20th century president uttered this incomprehensible sentence "I would like the government to do all it can to mitigate, then, in understanding, in mutuality of interest, in concern for the common good, our tasks will be solved”?
Answer: Warren Harding
- Ironically, who is the only person to be elected U.S. President, twice, and US Vice President, also twice?
Answer: Nixon
- Well before he was president, Lincoln stated his opposition spoke against which war by stating "military glory—that attractive rainbow, that rises in showers of blood"?
Answer: Mexican-American War
- On the topic of power, what U.S. President said that "“…Only if you’ve been in the deepest valley can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain…”?
Answer: Richard Nixon
- What early 19th century president was the first graduate student at Princeton?
Answer: James Madison
- Grover Cleveland is, to date, the only person ever to be given two presidential numbers, as he was the 22nd and 24th President of the United States. Who squeezed in between him as the 23rd president?
Answer: Harrison
- The League of Nations originated from what numerically-named speech given by President Woodrow Wilson in January 1918?
Answer: Fourteen Points
- Twice in American history a string of events has caused three different presidents to hold office within a single calendar year. Name one of the decades in which this occurred.
Answer: 1840s (1841) and 1880s (1881)
- What is the alliterative H-name of the former Kennedy residence just outside Washington D.C. in McLean, Virginia? The home, purchased by John F. Kennedy in 1955 was then sold to his brother Robert Kennedy in 1956 and finally sold out of the family in 2009.
Answer: Hickory Hill
- On June 4, 1961, President John F. Kennedy and USSR Premier Nikita Khrushchev famously met in what European capital city to discuss the relationship between their two countries?
Answer: Vienna
- Who was the first sitting U.S. president to appear on the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live? (Hint: He wasn't a host. He appeared in the show opener and said the phrase "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!")
Answer: Gerald Ford
- What man is the only U.S. president to have the oath of office administered by his own father? As vice president, he was visiting his Vermont family homestead when he heard word that the sitting president had died, making the unusual inauguration a necessity.
Answer: Calvin Coolidge
- Sharing a first name with JFK, what noted economist served as ambassador to India during JFK's presidency?
Answer: John Kenneth Galbraith
- Enough Ohios and Virginias! In 1874, a future president was born in this state, the first state WEST of the Mississippi River that a president would call home. What state was it?
Answer: Iowa
- During one of the most controversial elections in U.S. history, who was chosen by the House of Representatives (per the Constitution) as the 19th POTUS?
Answer: Rutherford B. Hayes
- Boasting a rich history of politicians aspiring for higher offices, how many U.S. presidents were born in Tennessee?
Answer: Zero
- Which American president had such distinct blue eyes and such a cold, stone-faced demeanor that he was popularly known as the "human iceberg?" This man served one term as a U.S. Senator from Indiana and one term as U.S. President.
Answer: Benjamin Harrison
- The earliest known photograph of a U.S. president was taken in 1843, and is of what man?
Answer: John Quincy Adams
- What 23rd President was known as the "century President" as he was sworn into office 100 years after George Washington?
Answer: Benjamin Harrison
- Only one U.S. President is buried in Washington, DC. Who is it?
Answer: Woodrow Wilson
- Under what man's presidency did the following three events occur: U.S. acquires border territory from Mexico for $10 million via the Gadsden Purchase, Congress passes the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the repeal of the Missouri Compromise.
Answer: Franklin Pierce
- James Garfield was shot by Charles Guiteau in 1881. This assassination attempt eventually led to Garfield's death. The bullet was lodged near Garfield's spine and could not be located by doctors. What contemporary American scientist and inventor created a metal detector to try (unsuccessfully) locating the bullet for removal?
Answer: Alexander Graham Bell
- Located more than 4,000 miles from Washington, DC, what is the only world capital city outside the United States to be named after an American president?
Answer: Monrovia
- Who campaigned as the Republican nominee (and went on to win) against Democratic nominee Winfield Scott Hancock during the 1880 presidential election?
Answer: James A. Garfield
- Under the supervision of Dr. Alan Isen in a television studio, who was the first U.S. President to appear in public wearing contact lenses? This occurred during the decade in which contact lenses first had mass appeal thanks to improved manufacturing technology.
Answer: Lyndon Johnson
- Montpelier—the one in Virginia, not the one in Vermont—is the name of the plantation house of what president and founding father?
Answer: Madison
- What U.S. President with a one-syllable last name was the son of a governor of New Hampshire and was known by the nickname "Young Hickory"?
Answer: Franklin Pierce
- There are four U.S. state capitals named after a president. The one that is furthest north has an airport with what three-letter abbreviation?
Answer: MSN
- What 19th century president joined his cabinet members in fighting a fire in the Library of Congress?
Answer: Millard Fillmore
- Which two states have produced the highest number of U.S. Presidents, claiming credit for 13?
Answer: New York and Ohio
What makes U.S. President trivia so engaging?
For one, the U.S. Presidency is an institution with a long and complicated history.
There have been 46 presidents so far, each with their own unique story and legacy.
Secondly, the office of the President is constantly evolving. Every new president brings their own perspective and policies to the White House, meaning there's always something new to learn.
So, whether you're a trivia buff or simply want to brush up on your knowledge of American history, these 198 U.S. president trivia questions are sure to challenge and educate you. Good luck!
Where can you find U.S. President trivia questions?
There are many places you can find U.S. President trivia questions. One option is to search the internet, where you will find many websites and online quizzes dedicated to the subject.
Another source of trivia questions is books devoted to the topic. These can be found in libraries or bookstores, and some may even be available online.
How can you create the perfect presidential trivia quiz?
Water Cooler Trivia is the perfect platform for creating a presidential trivia quiz.
Our trivia nerds are well-equipped to write engaging and challenging questions on any topic, including the U.S. presidents.
Plus, our platform makes it easy to share your quiz with friends or co-workers.
Get started with a free four-week trial today!
About the Author
Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.
.png){kind=logo}
.jpeg)
.png)