John Tyler had 15 children, the most of any U.S. President.

John Tyler memorial

America’s 10th President, John Tyler, was born in 1790, and as of December 2023, still has one living grandchild. The reason that’s possible? Tyler had children at all stages of his adult life — 15 kids total, the most of any U.S. President. His first child, Mary, was born in 1815, when he was 25 years old. His youngest, Pearl, was born in 1860, when Tyler was 70, less than two years before his death.

Tyler and his first wife, Letitia Christian Tyler, had eight children together. The couple were both in their early 50s and already grandparents when Tyler took office in 1841, first as Vice President and then, after the death of President William Henry Harrison a month later, as President. Letitia wasn’t in good health, and passed away in 1842, making Tyler the first U.S. President to become a widower while in office. Two years later, Tyler married his second wife, Julia Gardiner Tyler — making him also the first U.S. President to get married while in office. Julia was just 24 years old at the time, 30 years the President’s junior. Together, they had seven more kids, for a grand total of 15. Tyler’s 13th child, Lyon, was born when his father was 63 years old, and later in life, Lyon also had a much younger second wife. Lyon had two very long-lived sons who were born in the 1920s when Lyon was in his 70s. The elder son, Lyon Jr., died in 2020. John Tyler’s last surviving grandson, Harrison Ruffin Tyler, is more than 90 years old today.

By the Numbers

Did you know?

It’s a common myth that William Henry Harrison died due to a long inauguration speech.

William Henry Harrison, who died just a month into his presidential term, is still the shortest-serving President in U.S. history. For more than a century, the commonly accepted story was that Harrison caught a cold after delivering what’s still the longest-ever inaugural address in freezing weather. As the story goes, the President wore no overcoat, hat, or gloves during the 8,445-word speech, and wound up with pneumonia. But even Harrison’s doctor was unsure of the diagnosis at the time. In 2014, researchers took another look at the evidence and noted that Harrison’s symptoms started not in his respiratory system, but in his gut. They theorize that Washington, D.C.’s sewage, which at the time flowed into a marsh not far from the White House, got into the President’s water supply and caused typhoid fever.