Dwight D. Eisenhower: “Providence” 

Dwight D. Eisenhower’s code name, “Providence,” echoed his reputation for being a guiding force of virtue and purpose for many Americans. According to the Eisenhower National Historic Site, he became known as “Scorecard” after he retired, due to his love of golf.

John F. Kennedy: “Lancer” 

Lancelot, a legendary knight of King Arthur’s court, was the inspiration for the charismatic president’s code name, “Lancer.” Following John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the Kennedy administration’s nickname of “Camelot” was popularized by former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, solidifying this romanticized vision of JFK’s presidency.

Lyndon B. Johnson: “Volunteer” 

In 1941, when Lyndon B. Johnson was serving as a Texas Democrat in the House of Representatives, the U.S. entered World War II. In a move that likely inspired his nickname, Johnson became the first member of Congress to volunteer for active duty. He served as a lieutenant commander in the Navy until members of Congress were recalled to Washington in 1942.

Richard Nixon: “Searchlight” 

The code name “Searchlight” took a prophetic turn when an early morning break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters led to the unraveling of the Watergate scandal. But the name’s initial link to Richard Nixon may have come from his time as a U.S. representative, when he played a role in — and gained political prominence from — the investigation of a U.S. State Department official who was accused of spying for the Soviet Union.

Jimmy Carter: “Deacon” 

Jimmy Carter was a devout Christian before, during, and after his presidency. In the years following his time in the Oval Office, he continued to teach Sunday school, making the name “Deacon,” referencing a church official, particularly apt.

Ronald Reagan: “Rawhide” 

The name “Rawhide” drew not only from Ronald Reagan’s role in Hollywood Westerns, but also from the fact that he was a real-life rancher, with a small ranch outside Santa Barbara, California. 

Bill Clinton: “Eagle” 

Although Bill Clinton’s code name, like most, was never explained, it has been speculated that it has to do with his connection to the Boy Scouts of America. Although he did not achieve Eagle Scout rank (Gerald Ford is the only president to do so), he served as a Cub Scout in his youth, and he spoke at the 1997 National Scout Jamboree.

George H.W. Bush: “Timberwolf” 

The reason for George H.W. Bush’s code name, “Timberwolf,” isn’t known, but the 41st U.S. president was an avid outdoorsman who championed environmental protection. 

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• The U.S. Presidents’ Favorite Books
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Over 60

More than 20% of U.S. Presidents were elected while in their 60s. Ronald Reagan, who was 69 at his first inauguration in 1981, faced public scrutiny for his age during both election campaigns, something that had not commonly been seen up until then. The concerns didn’t seem to matter much: Reagan went on to serve two terms and completed his presidency just shy of 78 years old. The shortest-serving U.S. President, William Henry Harrison, was just over 68 years old when he assumed office in 1841, but his term was cut short just a month later when he died of what is now believed to have been typhoid. Harrison was, at the time, the oldest President to serve in the Oval Office, and he held that record for 140 years until Reagan was elected. Of the first 10 American Presidents, just three were over 60; of the most recent 10, half were over 60. Here are the 10 U.S. Presidents who were in their 60s when they were inaugurated.

- Ronald Reagan (40th President) — 69 years, 348 days
- William Henry Harrison (9th President) — 68 years, 23 days
- James Buchanan (15th President) — 65 years, 315 days
- George H.W. Bush (41st President) — 64 years, 222 days
- Zachary Taylor (12th President) — 64 years, 100 days
- Dwight D. Eisenhower (34th President) — 62 years, 98 days
- Andrew Jackson (7th President) — 61 years, 354 days
- John Adams (2nd President) — 61 years, 125 days
- Gerald R. Ford (38th President) — 61 years, 26 days
- Harry S. Truman (33rd President) — 60 years, 339 days

Over 50

Almost half of Americans surveyed by Pew Research in 2023 said that someone in their 50s was the ideal age for a President. It makes sense, then, that 55 is indeed the average age at inauguration — though only four Presidents were that exact age when sworn into office. They were Benjamin Harrison in 1889; Grover Cleveland, the only President to serve two nonconsecutive terms, at his second inauguration in 1893; Warren G. Harding in 1921; and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1963. George W. Bush, part of one of only two father-son presidential duos, was 54 years old when he was sworn in as the 43rd President in 2001. His father, George H.W. Bush, was 10 years older than that when he was sworn in as the 41st President 12 years earlier in 1989. Of the 25 Presidents inaugurated in their 50s, three also died in their 50s while in office: 29th President William Harding, 25th President William McKinley, and 16th President Abraham Lincoln. Here is the list of Presidents who took office in their 50s.

- James Monroe (5th President) — 58 years, 310 days
- James Madison (4th President) — 57 years, 353 days
- Thomas Jefferson (3rd President) — 57 years, 325 days
- John Quincy Adams (6th President) — 57 years, 236 days
- George Washington (1st President) — 57 years, 68 days
- Andrew Johnson (17th President) — 56 years, 107 days
- Woodrow Wilson (28th President) — 56 years, 66 days
- Richard M. Nixon (37th President) — 56 years, 11 days
- Grover Cleveland (24th President) — 55 years, 351 days
- Benjamin Harrison (23rd President) — 55 years, 196 days
- Warren G. Harding (29th President) — 55 years, 122 days
- Lyndon B. Johnson (36th President) — 55 years, 87 days
- Herbert Hoover (31st President) — 54 years, 206 days
- George W. Bush (43rd President) — 54 years, 198 days
- Rutherford B. Hayes (19th President) — 54 years, 151 days
- Martin Van Buren (8th President) — 54 years, 89 days
- William McKinley (25th President) — 54 years, 34 days
- Jimmy Carter (39th President) — 52 years, 111 days
- Abraham Lincoln (16th President) — 52 years, 20 days
- Chester A. Arthur (21st President) — 51 years, 349 days
- William H. Taft (27th President) — 51 years, 170 days
- Franklin D. Roosevelt (32nd President) — 51 years, 33 days
- Calvin Coolidge (30th President) — 51 years, 29 days
- John Tyler (10th President) — 51 years, 6 days
- Millard Fillmore (13th President) — 50 years, 183 days

Over 40

Despite the minimum age of 35 required for the job, no one in their 30s has ever been elected President of the United States. John F. Kennedy remains the youngest elected President in U.S. history; he was 43 years, 236 days old at his 1961 inauguration. Although Theodore Roosevelt was younger, at 42, when he took office, his presidency was assumed, not voted on, after the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901. Roosevelt remains the youngest person to ever become President. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama both defeated candidates more than 20 years their senior in 1992 and 2008, respectively. Clinton was inaugurated at the age of 46 in 1993 (George H.W. Bush was 68 at the time), and Barack Obama was first inaugurated in 2009 at the age of 47 (his opponent, John McCain, was 72). Here are the nine Presidents inaugurated in their 40s.

- James K. Polk (11th President) — 49 years, 123 days
- James A. Garfield (20th President) — 49 years, 105 days
- Franklin Pierce (14th President) — 48 years, 101 days
- Grover Cleveland (22nd President) — 47 years, 351 days
- Barack Obama (44th President) — 47 years, 169 days
- Ulysses S. Grant (18th President) — 46 years, 311 days
- Bill Clinton (42nd President) — 46 years, 154 days
- John F. Kennedy (35th President) — 43 years, 236 days
- Theodore Roosevelt (26th President) — 42 years, 322 days

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• The U.S. Presidents’ Favorite Books
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Thomas Jefferson

When Thomas Jefferson retired to his Virginia estate in 1809, he certainly didn’t slow down. Monticello was a hive of activity, at times hosting 50 guests — forcing Jefferson to build a second house on his Bedford estate where he could find some solitude. When not working in his garden, the former President was often found writing letters to people of note across the globe; one year, he wrote an astonishing 1,268 letters. The rest of his time was spent on various architectural projects, including the never-ending development of Monticello. Jefferson was most devoted to another pet project, the University of Virginia. He designed its campus buildings, set up its curriculum, selected all the books for its library, and chose its faculty members. In fact, the inscription on Jefferson's tombstone at Monticello names the achievements that the founding father wished to be remembered for, and notably omits the role of President. It reads, "Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, Author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom, & Father of the University of Virginia."

John Quincy Adams

Following his defeat by Andrew Jackson in the 1828 presidential election, John Quincy Adams — the son of America’s second President, John Adams — fell into something of a funk. Saddened by his loss and what he considered dark days ahead for the nation (the American Civil War began some 30 years later), he returned to his hometown of Quincy, Massachusetts. But he soon became bored by retirement. Against the wishes of his family, he ran for Congress and won election to the House of Representatives, becoming the first — and so far only — former President to run for and win a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He held the position from 1831 until his death in 1848, and was one of the House’s most articulate and forceful voices against slavery. 

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt was never a man to sit on the sidelines twiddling his thumbs. Following his disappointing loss to Woodrow Wilson in the 1912 presidential election (which would have given Roosevelt a third term in office), the 55-year-old decided to embark upon a dangerous expedition down an uncharted tributary of the Brazilian Amazon called the Rio da Dúvida, or River of Doubt. Accompanied by his 23-year-old son Kermit and a team of porters, explorers, and scientists, Roosevelt set off in December 1913. By the time they reached the River of Doubt in February 1914, they had already lost a number of team members to tropical illnesses, and half their pack animals had died. As they ventured farther down the unmapped territory, they had to contend with everything from mosquitoes to alligators to the potential threat of attack from Indigenous peoples in the area. Roosevelt got malaria during the lengthy expedition, and became dangerously ill. Still, the team managed to reach the end of their journey, at which point Roosevelt sent an understated telegram describing it as “a hard and somewhat dangerous, but very successful trip.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower

When his presidency ended in 1961, Dwight D. Eisenhower retired to his small farm adjacent to the battlefield outside Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The war hero’s involvement in politics, however, was far from over, and he remained active in the Republican Party as an elder statesman. He occasionally advised President John F. Kennedy, and was a frequent adviser to President Lyndon B. Johnson, especially after LBJ committed troops to Vietnam. Eisenhower also found the time to raise Angus cattle, paint, and write two volumes of his memoirs, as well as a bestselling book of anecdotal essays titled At Ease: Stories I Tell to Friends. 

Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon was forced to resign in 1974 following the disgrace of Watergate, the worst political scandal in United States history. But rather than crawl away and hide, Nixon slowly but surely engineered a redemption arc that went some way to restoring both his tarnished reputation and his personal financial woes created by legal costs. First, he sold the rights to his memoirs for more than $2 million (RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon later became a bestseller); then he gave a now-legendary interview to British TV personality David Frost for $600,000. This helped pave the way for a more active return to politics, albeit often in an advisory role. He gave advice to President Jimmy Carter and was also consulted by Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush (although neither President publicized the fact). Nixon eventually became a widely acknowledged expert on foreign policy, and authored several well-received books that cemented his status as a political heavyweight. 

Jimmy Carter 

When Jimmy Carter lost his bid for reelection in 1980, it looked as though his legacy might be forever tarnished by a presidency marked by an array of problems: an energy crisis, Soviet aggression, the Iran hostage crisis, rising inflation, and rising unemployment. But in later years, Carter was seen in a more positive light, helped immensely by his post-presidential life. Following his presidency, Carter emerged as a champion of human rights, and is now considered by some to be the nation's greatest former President. In 1982, he founded the Carter Center, an organization devoted to issues relating to democracy and human rights. He was also known for his tireless role with Habitat for Humanity International, a global organization that provides housing for underprivileged people. Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He died in late 2024 at the age of 100.

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• The U.S. Presidents’ Favorite Books
• What Was George Washington’s Inauguration Like?

The Seymour Tall Case Clock

Since 1975, an imposing grandfather clock has stood in the room’s northeast corner. According to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum, the clock was part of a furniture lot acquired by First Lady Pat Nixon two years before its Oval Office debut during Ford’s presidency. Made sometime between 1795 and 1805 by father and son cabinetmakers John and Thomas Seymour of Boston, the clock — known as the Seymour tall case clock — is made of mahogany and stands 8 feet, 10  inches tall. A very similar clock, from the same time period, is described by the Metropolitan Museum of Art as “among the finest and most aesthetically significant examples produced in North America during the Federal period.” In 2017, the stately piece unexpectedly appeared in the news when former FBI director James Comey mentioned it repeatedly when detailing his meetings with President Donald Trump. 

The White Marble Mantel

While some Oval Office decor comes and goes, the white marble fireplace mantel hasn’t changed for any administration since 1909. After the 27th President, William Howard Taft, took office, he held a competition to find an architect to renovate the West Wing and create the first Oval Office. The winner, architect Nathan C. Wyeth, selected a neoclassical mantel that has survived more than just time: In 1929, a fire in the West Wing gutted the Oval Office, and while the mantel suffered visible damage, it was salvaged and remained a fixture of the room. Five years later, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt expanded and relocated the Oval Office to the West Wing’s present southeast corner location, overlooking the Wilson Rose Garden, the mantel also moved, and has been in place ever since.  

George Washington Portraits

Among the many former Presidents whose portraits regularly appear in the Oval Office is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the first U.S. President, George Washington. Two specific portraits of the founding father have appeared time and again over the years: Charles Willson Peale’s three-quarter-length portrait, painted in 1776, and one by his son, Rembrandt Peale. Rembrandt Peale’s famous 1823 "Porthole" portrait was created as a replica of the artist’s original Washington portrait — which itself was purchased by Congress for $2,000 in 1832 — and is often given prominent placement over the mantel in the Oval Office.

The Presidential Seal in the Rug

The presidential seal is a familiar emblem, featuring an eagle, arrows, an olive branch, and a shield, and is famously featured in the Oval Office’s central rug. The seal’s prominent carpet placement was first used by President Harry Truman and has been replicated by nearly every President since. Truman’s carpet wasn’t only the first time a President featured the seal on the Oval Office rug, but it was also among the first uses of the newly redesigned symbol. Before his death, President Franklin D. Roosevelt worked on revamping the image, which added stars to represent the states and, most notably, turned the eagle’s head away from the arrows clutched in its claws, and toward the olive branch of peace.

Swedish Ivy

The Oval Office’s white marble mantel isn’t only regularly adorned with paintings: Since John F. Kennedy’s administration in the early 1960s, a Swedish ivy plant has often appeared perched on the ledge. The plant originated as a gift to Kennedy from Irish ambassador Thomas J. Kiernan. Its endurance warranted its own TIME magazine feature in 1984, and it has many progenies, originating as clippings from the main plant and passed around to friends and colleagues by White House staffers through the years. The famous greenery still lives in the Oval Office, rooted from Kennedy’s original plant.

The “Bronco Buster” Sculpture

“The Bronco Buster” is one of artist Frederic Remington’s most famous pieces. The bronze sculpture shows a cowboy on horseback, and its endurance as a symbol of the American West has been a fixture in the Oval Office since around the time it was gifted to the White House in 1973. Initially crafted in 1895, the sculpture was inspired by one of Remington's own early illustrations, accompanying an article written by Theodore Roosevelt in an 1888 edition of Century Magazine. Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump included it in their decor, but President Joe Biden removed it when he took office in 2021. Biden opted for a different horse sculpture: “Swift Messenger,” featuring a horse and rider, was made by New Mexico-based artist Allan Houser of the Chiricahua Apache tribe, and once belonged to Hawaiian Senator Daniel Ken Inouye, the first Japanese American person elected to both houses of Congress.

• Which U.S. Presidents Were Multilingual?
• The U.S. Presidents’ Favorite Books
• What Was George Washington’s Inauguration Like?

Thomas Jefferson

As well as being the third U.S. President and author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was a highly accomplished (and self-taught) architect. Among his most notable designs are his own home at Monticello, the Virginia State Capitol, and the University of Virginia. The founding father was also an inventor whose innovations included a wheel cipher for coded messages, a moldboard plow to till soil, and a macaroni machine. 

James A. Garfield 

James A. Garfield was ambidextrous and multilingual. Legend has it he could write with both hands at once, writing Greek in one hand and Latin in the other. He also became the first American presidential candidate to deliver a campaign speech in a language other than English, when he noticed a large group of German Americans in a crowd and addressed them in their native tongue.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

By the time Dwight D. Eisenhower graduated from West Point in 1915, his poker game was razor-sharp. He only improved from there, until he began to feel bad for taking everyone’s money — at which point he quit playing out of a sense of honor. Eisenhower took up bridge instead and excelled at that, too. While stationed in the Philippines, he began playing bridge regularly against President Manuel Quezon, and earned himself the nickname the “bridge wizard of Manila.” 

Richard Nixon 

Richard Nixon, like Eisenhower, was an exceptional poker player. While serving overseas as a U.S. Navy lieutenant, he became a proper card shark, winning thousands of dollars by the time he returned home — enough money to fund his first run for political office. Nixon was also one of the most musically accomplished Presidents. He played five instruments: saxophone, clarinet, accordion, violin, and piano. 

Gerald Ford 

Gerald Ford was a star football player at the University of Michigan and was named the team’s MVP in his final year in 1934. He was so good that he received contract offers from the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, but he turned them down to go to law school. Ford was also a fashion model in his 20s, making it onto the cover of Cosmopolitan in 1942, albeit in illustrated form. 

Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter’s artistic output is truly impressive. He took up painting in the 1980s and has since painted more than 100 works, many of which have been auctioned off for charity. He’s also a skilled woodworker, a winemaker, and the author of 32 books on everything from women’s rights to hunting and fishing.

Ronald Reagan

It’s well known that Ronald Reagan was a famous actor, appearing in more than 50 movies before he became President. But before he became a film star, Reagan was a lifeguard and an excellent swimmer. During his time working as a lifeguard at Lowell Park beach in Dixon, Illinois, the future President reportedly rescued 77 people from the water. 

Bill Clinton 

Bill Clinton is a skilled crossword puzzle solver. He can reportedly complete the New York Times crossword in a few minutes, while simultaneously speaking with political leaders on the phone. In 2007, he even wrote the clues for a Times crossword, filled with puns, pop culture references, and clever wordplay. 

Barack Obama

In 2008, a reporter asked Barack Obama if he had any hidden talents. His answer was that he considers himself “a pretty good poker player.” Like Eisenhower and Nixon, Obama is supposedly a card shark — although we largely have to take his word for it. What we definitely know about Obama is that he’s a talented speaker, for which we have plenty of proof. While still a U.S. senator, he won two Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word Album for the audiobook reading of his memoirs, Dreams From My Father and The Audacity of Hope. In 2022, he also won an Emmy for his narration on the Netflix documentary series Our Great National Parks.

• Which U.S. Presidents Were Multilingual?
• The U.S. Presidents’ Favorite Books
• What Was George Washington’s Inauguration Like?