Who was the first president? Here's what to know about the first president in US history.
To qualify for presidency in the United States, there are three requirements, according to the Constitution:
Must be at least 35 years old
Be a natural born citizen of the U.S.
Must have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years
There have been 46 presidents throughout U.S. history. With nearly 250 years of history, it can be easy to forget who held office and when. So, here is rundown on the first president, the current and all those in-between.
Who was the first president?
George Washington was the first president of the United States, taking his oath of office on April 30, 1789, according to the White House. Prior to his presidency, Washington was the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army.
Washington retired after two terms, setting a precedent for future presidents. He held the role from 1789 to 1797.
When did George Washington die?
After his retirement, Washington spent his time at Mount Vernon until he died of a throat infection on Dec. 14, 1799, says the White House.
Washington was 67 years old when he died.
How many presidents were there before Washington?
While Washington is recognized as the first president of our nation, there were several "presidents" before him.
During the Continental Congresses and Confederation Congress, a "president" was elected by the delegates to oversee the legislative session, according to the U.S. House of Representatives. This official had many responsibilities including "ruling on parliamentary issues, managing official correspondence, advancing or holding back legislation," among others.
These are the presidents of the Continental Congresses and Confederation Congress and their term lengths:
Peyton Randolph: Sep. 5 – Oct. 22, 1774
Henry Middleton: Oct. 22 – Oct. 26, 1774
Peyton Randolph: May 10 – May 24, 1775
John Hancock: May 24, 1775 – Oct. 31, 1777
Henry Laurens: Nov. 1, 1777 – Dec. 9, 1778
John Jay: Dec. 10, 1778 – Sep. 27, 1779
Samuel Huntington: Sep. 28, 1779 – Mar. 1, 1781
Samuel Huntington: Mar. 2 – July 6, 1781
Thomas McKean: July 10 – Oct. 23, 1781
John Hanson: Nov. 5, 1781 – Nov. 3, 1782
Elias Boudinot: Nov. 4, 1782–Nov. 3, 1783
Thomas Mifflin: Nov. 3, 1783 – Nov. 30, 1784
Richard Henry Lee: Nov. 30, 1784 – Nov. 4, 1785
John Hancock: Nov. 23, 1785 – June 5, 1786
Nathaniel Gorham: June 6, 1786 – Feb. 2, 1787
Arthur St. Clair: Feb. 2 – Oct. 5, 1787
Cyrus Griffin: Jan. 22, 1788 – Mar. 2, 1789
How old do you have to be to be president? What running for the highest office requires.
Who is the president of the United States?
The 46th president of the United States is Joe Biden. Biden previously represented Delaware for 36 years in the Senate, later becoming the 47th vice president of the U.S. under former President Barrack Obama.
Biden assumed office on Jan. 20, 2021 with Kamala Harris as his vice president, making Harris the first female vice president in U.S. history, as well as the first Black American and first Asian American vice president.
Presidents of the United States, in order
Here are all the presidents in U.S. history in order from first to current:
George Washington
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
James Monroe
John Quincy Adams
Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren
William Henry Harrison
John Tyler
James K. Polk
Zachary Taylor
Millard Fillmore
Franklin Pierce
James Buchanan
Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson
Ulysses S. Grant
Rutherford B. Hayes
James Garfield
Chester A. Arthur
Grover Cleveland
Benjamin Harrison
Grover Cleveland
William McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt
William Howard Taft
Woodrow Wilson
Warren G. Harding
Calvin Coolidge
Herbert Hoover
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
Dwight D. Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard M. Nixon
Gerald R. Ford
Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
Bill Clinton
George W. Bush
Barack Obama
Donald Trump
Joe Biden
One-term presidents: Trump joins the list of presidents denied a second term
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who was the first president? List of all the U.S. presidents in order
