Virginia Presidential Facts
Well Known & Lesser Known Facts
Two Charlottesville places designed by Thomas Jefferson are listed on the World Heritage Foundation list of prized cultural or natural assets, ranking them with the Great Pyramids of Egypt. These are Monticello: Home of Thomas Jefferson and the University of Virginia.
The Capitol of Virginia in Richmond houses the only statue for which George Washington ever posed.
One of Virginia's nicknames is "Mother of Presidents" because no other state has produced more U.S. presidents than Virginia. The eight U.S. presidents born in Virginia are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor and Woodrow Wilson.
Two other presidents were Virginia natives. They are Joseph Jenkins Roberts, who served as the first president of Liberia, and Sam Houston, who served as president of Texas.
According to Braddock's "Presidential Trivia," Thomas Jefferson - not caring for the stiff bowing prevalent among his predecessors - instituted the custom of having guests shake hands.
James Monroe furnished the White House with items he purchased at an auction of the possessions belonging to the executed Queen Marie Antoinette.
President William Henry Harrison and Vice President John Tyler were not only elected to the White House in the same year but were also both born in Charles City County, Va.
William Henry Harrison served for a mere 31 days before dying from pneumonia.
Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed the second Sunday in May to be Mother's Day.
Both Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe died on July 4 -- the first in 1826 and the other in 1831.
George Washington wrote a pamphlet on etiquette when he was 16 years old.
Zachary Taylor cast the first vote in his life when he voted for himself in the presidential election.
James Madison, at 5-foot, 4-inches, was the shortest president.
After leaving office, John Tyler became a member of the Confederate Congress.
Natural Bridge, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, was surveyed by George Washington and once owned by Thomas Jefferson who purchased it for 20 shillings.
