Key Dates

Warren G. Harding was born in Bloomington Grove, Ohio on November 2, 1865. He lived most of his life in Ohio. He was one of seven Presidents from Ohio.

He was a Baptist.

At 24, he suffered a nervous breakdown and spent several weeks in a sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Warren Harding was 6' tall.

Warren Harding campaigned for the presidency by meeting visiting groups on his front porch in Marion, Ohio.

He was the first candidate to hire a speechwriter.

Harding was the first newspaper publisher to be elected President.

President Harding was the first President that women voted for in a presidential electon. The 19th Admendment to the Constitution was passed in 1919.

He was the first presidential candidate to hire a speech writer.

President Harding was the first President to ride to his inauguration in an automobile.

He was the first sitting senator to be elected president.

Warren G. Harding presidency is ranked by historians as one of the worst, perhaps one step above President Grant's ranking.

He played golf twice a week . He was the first president to have a golf course named after him. He also liked to play poker and have cigars and whiskey. Warren G. Harding once lost all the White House china gambling, on one hand of cards.

Warren had a Airedale dog that sat in his own chair at cabinet meetings. The dog's name was Laddie Boy.

Warren Harding had the largest feet of any President. He wore a size 14 shoes.

Harding was the first to have the presidential election results broadcast on the radio.(November, 1920)

Warren Harding formally concluded WWI.

Loudspeakers were used at his inauguration for the first time in the event's history.

Warren G. Harding, 1920.
Library of Congress
(Click for larger image.)

His Airedale dog, Laddie Boy, delivered his newspaper each day. The dog had a birthday party and a cake made of dog biscuits. He also had his own chair for cabinet meetings.

He was the first President to broadcast over the radio. His speech at the dedication of the Francis Scott Key Memorial at Fort McHenry.

Harding coined the word "normalcy."

Nan Britton claimed in a sensational book, President's Daughter that Harding had fathered her daughter, Elizabeth Ann. Carrie Phillips, the wife of one of Harding's best friends, was involved in a 10-year affair with him. He also maintained a room next to the Oval Office for quick liaisons.

President Harding was the first President to visit Alaska and Canada during his term in office.

Harding hosted weekly poker games at the White House while he was president. Jess Smith, brought to the Justice Department by Attorney General Daugherty, guaranteed an ample supply of liquor for the games.

President Harding's Vice President was Calvin Coolidge (1921-1923).

When Harding died in 1923, there was no autopsy. Insiders came to believe that he had been poisoned by his wife to save him from the disgrace of his scandal-ridden administration.

Warren G. Harding died in San Francisco, CA. He was 57 years and 273 days old. He is buried in Marion, Ohio.