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Warren G. Harding
1921 - 1923
29th President
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.
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.
At 24, he suffered a nervous breakdown and spent several weeks in a sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan.
President Harding was the first President to ride to his inauguration in an automobile.
Warren G. Harding presidency is ranked by historians as one of the worst, perhaps one step above President Grant's ranking.
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.
Warren Harding formally concluded WWI
Loudspeakers were used at his inauguration for the first time in the event's history.
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.
Sources:
The Presidents of the United States. 22 September 2004 <http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/>
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
Kane, Joseph Natan. Facts about the Presidents from Washington to Johnson. New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1964.
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