Interesting Presidential Trivia Questions for Kids

Our political climate has never been more complicated—so complicated that kids might be bored at even the thought of politics. However, it’s important for them to have at least a little understanding of what’s happening right now. A good way to get them interested? Fun facts and president trivia questions for kids! America’s political landscape has always been filled with colorful characters, crazy stories, and extraordinary lives.

Below are trivia tidbits about our nation’s past presidents, first ladies, first pets, and vice presidents. You can sprinkle these facts into dinner-table conversation and see which ones your kids hook onto, or turn them in a quiz that’s perfect for the upcoming inauguration or President’s Day. Give the kids awards for the most correct or creative answers to your questions, but remember, it’s not about winning. It’s about sparking an interest in American history and getting to know the people who made this country what it is today.

• 10 Fun Facts About American Presidents
• Match the First Lady to Her President!
• Match the Pet to Their President!
• 10 Fun Facts About American Vice Presidents

10 Fun Facts About American Presidents

1. A minimum of 300 billion portraits of Abraham Lincoln have been created—that’s how many pennies have been made since 1787.
     
2. The first president born a U.S. citizen was Martin Van Buren. His birthday was Dec. 5, 1782, making him the first president born after the Declaration of Independence was signed.
     
3. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were the only presidents to sign the Declaration of Independence, and they both died on its 50th anniversary, July 4, 1826.
     
4. Nine presidents never attended college, including Washington and Lincoln. However, Lincoln was an avid reader and self-educated.
     
5. At 6 feet, 4 inches standing, Abraham Lincoln was the tallest U.S. president. The shortest? James Madison, measuring in at 5 feet, 4 inches.
     
6. When he became president, George Washington had only one tooth. He wore dentures made of human or animal teeth, ivory, and lead, but never wood.
     
7. Andrew Jackson was the first president to have been born in a log cabin, and the first to travel by railroad train.
     
8. Washington is the only president that never lived in Washington, D.C. during his presidency.
     
9. Joe Biden will be the oldest president inaugurated (age 78); the youngest was John F. Kennedy (age 43).
     
10. While this fact has never been confirmed, legend has it that sixth president John Quincy Adams was gifted an alligator—and he kept it in his bathtub!

Match the First Lady to Her President!

Try your best to match, then find the answers below.

Match the Pet to Their President!

Try your best to match, then find the answers below.

10 Fun Facts About American Vice Presidents

1. Kamala Harris is the first female vice president, the first Black vice president, and the first South Asian vice president!
     
2. Two vice presidents served during Richard Nixon’s presidency: Spiro T. Agnew and Gerald R. Ford.
     
3. Eventual president Harry Truman was Franklin D. Roosevelt’s vice president, and took office just three months into FDR’s fourth term.
     
4. Aaron Burr, who infamously killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel, was Thomas Jefferson’s vice president.
     
5. Fifteen vice presidents have gone on to become presidents.
     
6. John Tyler, William Henry Harrison’s VP in 1841, held his position for only one month—Harrison died from pneumonia complications just 32 days into his presidency making Tyler president.
     
7. John C. Calhoun was the first VP to resign, in 1832.
     
8. Six former VPs, including Joe Biden, are still alive today.
     
9. A vice president can act as president if the current commander in chief is incapacitated. For example, George H.W. Bush acted as president while Ronald Reagan was recovering from surgery.
     
10. The idea that the VP would be next in line to assume the presidency wasn’t formalized until 1967 with the passage of the 25th amendment.

Answers to first ladies

Franklin D. Roosevelt - Anna Eleanor

Abraham Lincoln - Mary Todd

Ronald Regan - Nancy

Richard Nixon - Pat

Barack Obama - Michelle

John F. Kennedy - Jacqueline

George Washington - Martha

Lyndon B. Johnson - Lady Bird

James Madison - Dolley

George Bush - Barbara

Answers to pets

Barack Obama - Sunny and Bo

Warren G. Harding - Laddie Boy

Roosevelt - Bill the lizard (and many more!)

Gerald Ford - Liberty

Bill Clinton - Socks

Joe Biden - Champ and Major