Global political history

Global political history from 3000 BC to the 21st century – political leaders, elections, and more.

United States

Navigation: Connecticut | Florida | Georgia | Illinois | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New York | North Carolina | Ohio | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | Tennessee | Virginia.


President of the Continental Congress
John Hancock

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 23 1737; d. October 8 1793.

Non-Partisan

1775 – 1777

Henry Laurens

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 6 1724; d. December 8 1792.

Non-Partisan

1777 – 1778

John Jay

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 23 1745; d. May 17 1829.

Non-Partisan

1778 – 1779

Richard Henry Lee

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 20 1732; d. June 19 1794.

Non-Partisan

1784 – 1785

John Hancock

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 23 1737; d. October 8 1793.

Non-Partisan

1785 – 1786

Arthur St. Clair

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 23 1737; d. August 31 1818.

Non-Partisan

1787

President of the United States
George Washington

Date of birth/date of death: b. February 22 1732; d. December 14 1799.

Military ranks: Promoted to General (Continental Army), 1775. Promoted to Lieutenant General (United States Army), 1798. Promoted to General of the Armies (posthumous), 1976.

Elections contested: 1788-89 United States presidential election (won); 1792 United States presidential election (won).

Other prominent offices: Commander in Chief of the Continental Army (1775 – 1783); Chancellor of the College of William & Mary (1788 – 1799); Senior Officer of the United States Army (1798 – 1799).

Independent

1789 – 1797

John Adams

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 20 1735; d. July 4 1826.

Elections contested: 1796 United States presidential election (won); 1800 United States presidential election (lost).

Other prominent offices: Vice President of the United States (1789 – 1797); Envoy of the United States to France (1777 – 1779); Minister of the United States to the Netherlands (1782 – 1788); Minister of the United States to Great Britain (1785 – 1788); Federalist Party nominee for President of the United States (1796, 1800).

Federalist Party

1797 – 1801

Thomas Jefferson

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 13 1743; d. July 4 1826.

Elections contested: 1796 United States presidential election (lost); 1800 United States presidential election (won); 1804 United States presidential election (won).

Other prominent offices: Vice President of the United States (1797 – 1801); Governor of Virginia (1779 – 1781); Minister of the United States to France (1785 – 1789); United States Secretary of State (1790 – 1793).

Democratic-Republican Party

1801 – 1809

James Madison

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 16 1751; d. June 28 1836.

Elections contested: 1789 United States House election for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District (won); 1790 United States House election for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District (won); 1792 United States House election for Virginia’s 15th Congressional District (won); 1794 United States House election for Virginia’s 15th Congressional District (won); 1808 United States presidential election (won); 1812 United States presidential election (won).

Other prominent offices: Member of the United States House of Representatives (1789 – 1797); United States Secretary of State (1801 – 1809).

Democratic-Republican Party

1809 – 1817

James Monroe

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 28 1758; d. July 4 1831.

Presidential elections contested: 1816 United States presidential election as Democratic-Republican Party nominee (won); 1820 United States presidential election as Democratic-Republican Party nominee (won).

Gubernatorial elections contested: 1799 Virginia gubernatorial election as Democratic-Republican Party nominee (won); 1811 Virginia gubernatorial election as Democratic-Republican Party nominee (won).

Other prominent offices: Member of the United States Senate from Virginia (1790 – 1793); Minister of the United States to France (1794 – 1796); Governor of Virginia (1799 – 1802; 1811); Minister of the United States to the United Kingdom (1803 – 1807); United States Secretary of State (1811 – 1817); United States Secretary of War (1814 – 1815).

Democratic-Republican Party

1817 – 1825

John Quincy Adams

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 11 1767; d. February 23 1848.

Presidential elections contested: 1824 United States presidential election as Democratic-Republican Party nominee (won); 1828 United States presidential election as National Republican Party nominee (lost).

Gubernatorial elections contested: 1833 Massachusetts gubernatorial election as Anti-Masonic Party nominee (lost).

Other prominent offices: Minister of the United States to the Netherlands (1794 – 1797); Minister of the United States to Prussia (1797 – 1801); Member of the United States Senate from Massachusetts (1803 – 1808); Minister of the United States to Russia (1809 – 1814); Minister of the United States to the United Kingdom (1815 – 1817); United States Secretary of State (1817 – 1825); Member of the United States House of Representatives (1831 – 1848).

National Republican Party

1825 – 1829

Andrew Jackson

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 15 1767; d. June 8 1845.

Presidential elections contested: 1824 United States presidential election as Democratic-Republican Party nominee (lost); 1828 United States presidential election as Democratic Party nominee (won); 1832 United States presidential election as Democratic Party nominee (won).

Other prominent offices: Member of the United States House of Representatives (1796 – 1797); Member of the United States Senate from Tennessee (1797 – 1798; 1823 – 1825); Military Governor of Florida (1821); Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Military Affairs (1823 – 1825).

Democratic Party

1829 – 1837

Martin Van Buren

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 5 1782; d. July 24 1862.

Presidential elections contested: 1832 United States presidential election as Democratic Party vice-presidential nominee (won); 1836 United States presidential election as Democratic Party nominee (won); 1840 United States presidential election as Democratic Party nominee (lost); 1848 United States presidential election as Free Soil Party nominee (lost).

Gubernatorial elections contested: 1828 New York gubernatorial election as Democratic Party nominee (won).

Other prominent offices: Attorney General of New York (1815 – 1818); Member of the United States Senate from New York (1821 – 1828); Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (1823 – 1828); Governor of New York (1829); United States Secretary of State (1829 – 1831); Minister of the United States to the United Kingdom (1831 – 1832); Vice President of the United States (1833 – 1837).

Democratic Party

1837 – 1841

William Henry Harrison

Date of birth/date of death: b. February 9 1773; d. April 4 1841.

Whig Party

1841

John Tyler

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 29 1790; d. January 18 1862.

Independent

1841 – 1845

James Knox Polk

Date of birth/date of death: b. November 2 1795; d. June 15 1849.

Democratic Party

1845 – 1849

Zachary Taylor

Date of birth/date of death: b. November 24 1784; d. July 9 1850.

Whig Party

1849 – 1850

Millard Fillmore

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 7 1800; d. March 8 1874.

Whig Party

1850 – 1853

Franklin Pierce

Date of birth/date of death: b. November 23 1804; d. October 8 1869.

Democratic Party

1853 – 1857

James Buchanan, Jr.

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 23 1791; d. June 1 1868.

Democratic Party

1857 – 1861

Abraham Lincoln

Date of birth/date of death: b. February 12 1809; d. April 15 1865.

Republican Party

1861 – 1865

Andrew Johnson

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 29 1808; d. July 31 1875.

National Union Party

1865 – 1869

Ulysses S. Grant

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 27 1822; d. July 23 1885

Military ranks: Promoted to Brigadier General, 1861. Promoted to Major General, 1863. Promoted to Lieutenant General, 1864. Promoted to General of the Army, 1866. Retired from the military, 1869.

Republican Party

1869 – 1877

Chester Alan Arthur

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 5 1829; d. November 18 1886.

Republican Party

1881 – 1885

Stephen Grover Cleveland

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 18 1837; d. June 24 1908

Democratic Party

1885 – 1889

Benjamin Harrison

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 20 1833; d. March 13 1901.

Republican Party

1889 – 1893

Stephen Grover Cleveland

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 18 1837; d. June 24 1908

Democratic Party

1893 – 1897

William McKinley

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 29 1843; d. September 14 1901.

Republican Party

1897 – 1901

Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 27 1858; d. January 6 1919

Republican Party

1901 – 1909

William Howard Taft

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 15 1857; d. March 8 1930

Republican Party

1909 – 1913

Thomas Woodrow Wilson

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 28 1856; d. February 3 1924

Democratic Party

1913 – 1921

John Calvin Coolidge, Jr.

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 4 1872; d. January 5 1933

Republican Party

1923 – 1929

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 30 1882; d. April 12 1945

Democratic Party

1933 – 1945

Harry S. Truman

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 8 1884; d. December 26 1972

Democratic Party

1945 – 1953

Dwight David Eisenhower

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 14 1890; d. March 28 1969

Military ranks: Promoted to Brigadier General, 1941. Promoted to Major General, 1942. Promoted to Lieutenant General, 1942. Promoted to General, 1943. Promoted to General of the Army, 1944.

Republican Party

1953 – 1961

John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 29 1917; d. November 22 1963

Democratic Party

1961 – 1963

Lyndon Baines Johnson

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 27 1908; d. January 22 1973

Democratic Party

1963 – 1969

Richard Milhous Nixon

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 9 1913; d. April 22 1994.

Republican Party

1969 – 1974

Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr.

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 14 1913; d. December 26 2006.

Republican Party

1974 – 1977

James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, Jr.

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 1 1924; d. December 29 2024.

Democratic Party

1977 – 1981

Ronald Wilson Reagan

Date of birth/date of death: b. February 6 1911; d. June 5 2004

Republican Party

1981 – 1989

George Herbert Walker Bush

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 12 1924; d. November 30 2018.

Republican Party

1989 – 1993

William Jefferson “Bill” Clinton

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 19 1946.

Democratic Party

1993 – 2001

George Walker Bush

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 6 1946.

Republican Party

2001 – 2009

Barack Hussein Obama II

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 4 1961.

Democratic Party

2009 – 2017

Donald John Trump

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 14 1946.

Republican Party

2017 – 2021

Joseph Robinette “Joe” Biden, Jr.

Date of birth/date of death: b. November 20 1942.

Democratic Party

2021 – 2025

Donald John Trump

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 14 1946.

Republican Party

2025 – present


Vice President of the United States
John Adams

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 20 1735; d. July 4 1826.

Federalist Party

1789 – 1797

Thomas Jefferson

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 13 1743; d. July 4 1826.

Democratic-Republican Party

1797 – 1801

Aaron Burr, Jr.

Date of birth/date of death: b. February 6 1756; d. September 14 1836.

Democratic-Republican Party

1801 – 1805

George Clinton

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 26 1739; d. April 20 1812.

Democratic-Republican Party

1805 – 1812

Elbridge Gerry

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 17 1744; d. November 23 1814.

Democratic-Republican Party

1813 – 1814

Daniel D. Tompkins

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 21 1774; d. June 11 1825.

Democratic-Republican Party

1817 – 1825

John Caldwell Calhoun

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 18 1782; d. March 31 1850.

Democratic-Republican Party (1825 – 1828); Democratic Party (1828); Nullifier Party (1828 – 1832)

1825 – 1832

Martin Van Buren

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 5 1782; d. July 24 1862.

Democratic Party

1833 – 1837

Richard Mentor Johnson

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 17 1780; d. November 19 1850.

Democratic Party

1837 – 1841

John Tyler

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 29 1790; d. January 18 1862.

Whig Party

1841

Millard Fillmore

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 7 1800; d. March 8 1874.

Whig Party

1849 – 1850

Andrew Johnson

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 29 1808; d. July 31 1875.

National Union Party

1865

Chester Alan Arthur

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 5 1829; d. November 18 1886.

Republican Party

1881

Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 27 1858; d. January 6 1919

Republican Party

1901

John Calvin Coolidge, Jr.

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 4 1872; d. January 5 1933

Republican Party

1921 – 1923

Harry S. Truman

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 8 1884; d. December 26 1972

Democratic Party

1945

Richard Milhous Nixon

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 9 1913; d. April 22 1994.

Republican Party

1953 – 1961

Lyndon Baines Johnson

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 27 1908; d. January 22 1973

Democratic Party

1961 – 1963

Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr.

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 27 1911; d. January 13 1978.

Democratic Party

1965 – 1969

Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr.

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 14 1913; d. December 26 2006.

Republican Party

1973 – 1974

Walter Frederick “Fritz” Mondale

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 5 1928; d. April 19 2021.

Democratic Party

1977 – 1981

George Herbert Walker Bush

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 12 1924; d. November 30 2018.

Republican Party

1981 – 1989

Albert Arnold “Al” Gore, Jr.

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 31 1948.

Democratic Party

1993 – 2001

Richard Bruce “Dick” Cheney

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 30 1941.

Republican Party

2001 – 2009

Joseph Robinette “Joe” Biden, Jr.

Date of birth/date of death: b. November 20 1942.

Democratic Party

2009 – 2017

Michael Richard “Mike” Pence

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 7 1959.

Republican Party

2017 – 2021

Kamala Devi Harris

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 20 1964.

Democratic Party

2021 – 2025