The height differences between all the US presidents and first ladies

By

Jan 14, 2023 #‘differences’, #between, #first, #height, #ladies’, #president’s

The height differences between all the US presidents and first ladies

<p>While Abraham Lincoln was 6-foot-4, James Madison was a full foot shorter. The shortest first lady was Eliza Johnson at 4 feet 9 inches, and Eleanor Roosevelt, Michelle Obama, and Melania Trump tied for the tallest at 5 feet 11 inches.</p> <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal/Business Insider</p> <p>While every American president and first lady has reached the same heights of political office and public service, not all reached the White House at the same physical height.<br /> John Adams and Abigail Adams were only separated in height by an inch, while Thomas Jefferson was over a foot taller than his wife, Martha Jefferson.<br /> We found the heights through online research and speaking with presidential historical sites and libraries, but a few first ladies' heights have been lost to history.<br /> Here is the height difference of every US president and first lady we could find.</p> <div> <div class="slide">George and Martha Washington: 1-foot-2-inches (36 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">John and Abigail Adams: 1 inch (2 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Thomas and Martha Jefferson: 1-foot-2.5-inches (37 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> <p>Jefferson was a widower when his presidency began, and his daughter, Martha, <a href="https://www.history.com/news/not-every-first-lady-has-been-married-to-the-president" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acted as first lady</a>, along with wives of the Cabinet secretaries.</p> </div> <div class="slide">James and Dolley Madison: 3 inches (7 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">James and Elizabeth Monroe: 1 foot (31 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">John Quincy and Louisa Adams: 1.5 inches (3 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Andrew and Rachel Jackson: 1-foot-1-inch (33 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> <p>Rachel Jackson died just months before her husband's inauguration. Her niece Emily Donelson and his daughter-in-law Sarah Yorke Jackson <a href="https://www.history.com/news/not-every-first-lady-has-been-married-to-the-president" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acted as first lady</a> in her absence.</p> </div> <div class="slide">Martin and Hannah Van Buren: Unknown <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> <p>Martin Van Buren was also a widower, and his daughter-in-law <a href="https://www.history.com/news/not-every-first-lady-has-been-married-to-the-president" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Angelica Singleton Van Buren</a> oversaw the duties of first lady.</p> </div> <div class="slide">William Henry and Anna Harrison: Unknown <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">John and Julia Tyler: 9 inches (23 cm); John and Letitia Tyler: Unknown <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> <p>Tyler's first wife, Letitia, died from a stroke while in the White House. He married his second wife, Julia, while still serving as president.</p> </div> <div class="slide">James K. and Sarah Polk: 6 inches (16 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Zachary and Margaret Taylor: Unknown <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Millard and Abigail Filmore: 3 inches (7 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Franklin and Jane Pierce: 5 inches (13 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">James Buchanan and Harriet Lane: 5 inches (13 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> <p>Buchanan was a lifelong bachelor. His niece, <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/1600/first-ladies/harrietlane" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Harriet Lane</a>, acted as first lady during his term.</p> </div> <div class="slide">Abraham and Mary Lincoln: 1-foot-2-inches (36 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Andrew and Eliza Johnson: 1-foot-1-inch (33 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Ulysses S. and Julia Grant: Unknown <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Rutherford B. and Lucy Hayes: 4.5 inches (11 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">James A. and Lucretia Garfield: 9 inches (23 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Chester A. and Ellen Arthur: Unknown <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> <p>Chester A. Arthur was a widower when he became president after Garfield was shot, and his sister, <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/1600/first-ladies/ellenarthur" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mary Arthur McElroy</a>, served as first lady in his wife's place.</p> </div> <div class="slide">Grover and Frances Cleveland: 4 inches (10 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> <p>Grover Cleveland served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland's two terms were split apart by the presidency of Benjamin Harrison.</p> <p>He <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/1600/first-ladies/francescleveland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">married Frances</a> during his first term, and she took over the duties of White House hostess from his sister, Rose Cleveland.</p> </div> <div class="slide">Benjamin and Caroline Harrison: 5 inches (13 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">William and Ida McKinley: Unknown <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Theodore and Edith Roosevelt: 3 inches (8 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">William Howard and Helen Taft: 7.5 inches (19 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Woodrow and Edith Wilson: 2 inches (5 cm); Woodrow and Ellen Wilson: 8 inches (20 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> <p>Wilson's first wife, <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/1600/first-ladies/ellenwilson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ellen</a>, died from an illness during her husband's presidency. He then remarried in 1915 to his second wife, <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/1600/first-ladies/edithwilson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Edith</a>.</p> </div> <div class="slide">Warren G. and Florence Harding: 5 inches (13 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Calvin and Grace Coolidge: 6 inches (15 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Herbert and Lou Hoover: 3.5 inches (9 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt: 3 inches (8 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Harry S. and Bess Truman: 5 inches (12 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Dwight D. and Mamie Eisenhower: 9.5 inches (24 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">John F. and Jackie Kennedy: 5 inches (12 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Lyndon B. and Lady Bird Johnson: 9.5 inches (24 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Richard and Pat Nixon: 5.5 inches (14 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Gerald and Betty Ford: 9 inches (23 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter: 4.5 inches (12 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Ronald and Nancy Reagan: 9 inches (22 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">George H.W. and Barbara Bush: 11 inches (28 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Bill and Hillary Clinton: 8 inches (20 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">George W. and Laura Bush: 5.5 inches (14 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Barack and Michelle Obama: 2 inches (5 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Donald and Melania Trump: 3 inches (8 cm) <p class="copyright">Shayanne Gal and Samantha Lee/Business Insider</p> </div> <div class="slide">Joe and Jill Biden: 6 inches (15 cm) <p class="copyright">Whitehouse photographer/Whitehouse; Alswang, Ralph/Library of Congress; Arif Qazi/Insider;</p> </div> </div> <div class="read-original">Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-president-first-lady-height-differences-2018-7">Business Insider</a></div>

While Abraham Lincoln was 6-foot-4, James Madison was a full foot shorter. The shortest first lady was Eliza Johnson at 4 feet 9 inches, and Eleanor Roosevelt, Michelle Obama, and Melania Trump tied for the tallest at 5 feet 11 inches.

Shayanne Gal/Business Insider

While every American president and first lady has reached the same heights of political office and public service, not all reached the White House at the same physical height.
John Adams and Abigail Adams were only separated in height by an inch, while Thomas Jefferson was over a foot taller than his wife, Martha Jefferson.
We found the heights through online research and speaking with presidential historical sites and libraries, but a few first ladies’ heights have been lost to history.
Here is the height difference of every US president and first lady we could find.

George and Martha Washington: 1-foot-2-inches (36 cm)