The following lists achievements and distinctions of various presidents of the United States. It includes distinctions achieved in their earlier life and post-presidencies. Due to some confusion surrounding sovereignty of nations during presidential visits, only nations that were independent, sovereign, or recognized by the United States during the presidency are listed here as a precedent.
George Washington (1789–1797)
First president of the United States First president to have been born in the 18th centuryThe White House. "George Washington". Retrieved December 28, 2020. First president to have been a military veteran First president to have served in the American Revolutionary War First president born in VirginiaBook of Political Lists, p. 5 First president to be elected to a second term in office First president to own slaves First president to be an Episcopalian First president to be a Freemason First president to appear on a postage stamp First president to receive votes from every presidential elector in an election First president to be inaugurated in New York City First president to fill the entire body of the United States federal judges; including the United States Supreme CourtMount Vernon Ladies' Association. 2021. "George Washington and the Supreme Court" Retrieved January 18, 2021. First president to deliver a State of the Union address (1790)Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. 2021. "State of the Union Address (1790)" Retrieved January 18, 2021. First president to have a first lady older in age First president to command a standing field army while in office (during the Whiskey Rebellion) First president who was not affiliated with any political party First president to go uncontested in an election First president to not have any biological children First president to be declared an honorary citizen of a foreign country, and an honorary citizen of France First president to deliver a farewell address First president to have a constitutional amendment passed during his tenure (the first 11 amendments were passed during his two terms)
John Adams (1797–1801)
First president to live in the White House First president to have previously served as vice president First president to have previously served as an ambassador to a foreign country First president to be a lawyer First president who had never served in the militaryBook of Political Lists, p. 17 First president to not be a slave owner First president to wear a powdered wig tied in a queue in the fashion of the 18th century← First president who attended one of the Ivy League colleges First president to have biological childrenBook of Political Lists, p. 60 First president to receive the oath of office from a chief justice of the Supreme Court First president not to veto any bills while in office First president to have a child (Charles Adams) die while in office First president to be defeated for a second term in office First president to not attend the inauguration of his successor First president to have a first lady younger in age First president to have a child (John Quincy Adams) serve as president of the United States First president to live to the age of 90. First president to have signed the Declaration of Independence First president to have visited Europe First president to meet a reigning British monarch First president to outlive another former president First president to be multilingualCrapo (2007), 4. First president to not have any constitutional amendment be ratified during his term
Thomas Jefferson (1801–1809)
First president to have previously been a governor First president to have previously served as secretary of state First president to have been widowed prior to his inauguration First president to be inaugurated in Washington, D.C. First president to have his inaugural speech reprinted in a newspaperWolly, Brian. December 17, 2008. "Inaugural Firsts" Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved January 18, 2021. First president whose inauguration was not attended by his immediate predecessor First president to live a full presidential term in the White House First president to defeat an opponent he had previously lost to in a presidential election First president who defeated an incumbent president First president whose election was decided in the United States House of Representatives First president to have an inaugural parade; occurred during his second inauguration First president to cite the doctrine of executive privilege First president to have a vice president elected under the Twelfth Amendment First president to expand the country's territory First president to have pets at the White House; two grizzly bear cubs and a mockingbirdPresidential Pet Museum. March 30, 2014. "Grizzly Bears at the White House" Retrieved January 26, 2021.Presidential Pet Museum. March 30, 2014. "Thomas Jefferson's Mockingbird Named Dick" Retrieved January 26, 2021. First president to found a university after being in office; the University of Virginia in 1819Juliana LaBianca (November 4, 2020). "13 Unlikely Jobs U.S. Presidents Held After the White House" Reader's Digest. Retrieved January 9, 2021. First president to serve as rector of a university (University of Virginia) First president to deliver a State of the Union address via writing; this practice continued until 1913. First president to die on the Fourth of July First president to be outlived by one of his predecessors First president to father children while in office
James Madison (1809–1817)
First president to have served in the United States House of RepresentativesBook of Political Lists, p. 18 First president to ask Congress for a declaration of warBook of Political Lists, p. 29 First president to serve as a wartime commander-in-chief First president to have an inaugural ball First president to issue a pocket veto First president to have a parent live throughout his presidency First president to have a second cousin as a future president (Zachary Taylor) First president to host a wedding in the White House First president to have a vice president die in office and the first president to have a vacancy in the office of vice president
James Monroe (1817–1825)
First president to have served in the United States SenateBook of Political Lists, p. 19 First president to have a child marry at the White House First president to ride on a steamboat First president to have held over 50 years of elected public office positions by the end of his presidency First president to have held two cabinet positions at once prior to assuming office First president to have a foreign capital named after him (Monrovia, Liberia)
John Quincy Adams (1825–1829)
First president to be the son of another president First president whose father lived to see him become president First president to have a foreign-born spouse First president to have a son marry at the White House First president to have a surviving photograph of him First photographs of US presidents First president elected despite receiving fewer votes in the popular election than his opponent First president elected despite receiving fewer electoral votes than one of his opponents (Andrew Jackson) First president to adopt a short haircut instead of long hair tied in a queue First president to have been inaugurated wearing long trousers instead of knee breeches First president to serve in Congress after serving in the presidency First president to die from a strokeThe White House. "John Quincy Adams" Retrieved January 16, 2021. First president to have been nominated to the Supreme Court First president to have any facial hair First president to have a foreign-born childLewis L. Gould, American First Ladies: Their Lives and Their Legacy (2014), p. 47 First president who was not a Founding Father First president to swear upon a book other than the Bible during their oath of office
Andrew Jackson (1829–1837)
First president born in a log cabin First president born to immigrant parents First president to be inaugurated on the East Portico of the United States Capitol, facing the Library of Congress and Supreme Court First president to pay off the entire national debt First president born after the death of his father First president elected as a Democrat to the presidency First president to marry a divorced woman First president to kill someone in a duelVecchione, 101 First president to survive an assassination attempt while in office First president born in the Carolinas First president to ride on a railroad train First president to be censured by the Senate, although it was expunged in 1837 First president to have previously administered the oath of office to a vice president of the United States (John C. Calhoun) First president to die outside of the original British Thirteen Colonies.
Martin Van Buren (1837–1841)
First president born after the Declaration of Independence First president to be a non-native speaker of English First president not of British ancestry First president to have Dutch ancestry First president from the state of New York First president to be born a citizen of the United States and not a British subject First president to have multiple members of the same party (Whig) run against him First president to receive over 1 million votes in an election while in office First president from the Northern United States to have owned a slave First president to run for presidency on a third-party ticketIn the 1844 United States presidential election, Van Buren unsuccessfully ran as a candidate for the Free Soil Party.
William Henry Harrison (1841)
First president elected as a Whig to the presidency First president to have 10 or more biological children First president to be a grandfather of a future president First president to give an inaugural address of more than 5,000 wordsBook of Political Lists, p. 25 First president to not issue an executive order First president to die in office First president to serve less than one full term in office First president to receive over 1 million votes in a presidential election before assuming office First president to have a photograph taken while in office
John Tyler (1841–1845)
First president to ascend to the presidency by the death of his predecessor First president to have a veto overridden First president to face a vote of impeachment in the House (it was unsuccessful)Book of Political Lists, p. 28 First president to be widowed while in office First president to remarry while in office First president to be born after the ratification of the United States Constitution First president to be expelled from his political party while in office First president to be buried under a foreign flag First president to have links to the Confederate States of America First president to never win a presidential election First president to father children after leaving office
James K. Polk (1845–1849)
First president to be under the age of 50 upon election and upon entering office First president to have served as speaker of the House of Representatives First president to be elected despite losing his states of birth and residence First president to be nominated by his party as a dark horse First president not to seek re-election upon the completion of his one term First president to die before reaching the age of 60 First president to predecease a parent and a mother First president not to keep a pet during his term in office First president to have his cabinet photographed First president to have a surviving photograph taken of him while in office
Zachary Taylor (1849–1850)
First president who had served in no prior elected office First president to serve in the Mexican–American War First president to take office while his party held a minority of seats in the SenateBook of Political Lists, p. 34