Random President Generator

One press draws from the full list of 45 US presidents, each with a number, years in office, a party and one fact worth knowing.

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Woodrow Wilson28th president, 1913–1921, Democratic. Led the country in World War I; 1919 Nobel Peace Prize.
Donald Trump45th and 47th president, 2017–2021 and since 2025, Republican. Second to serve two non-consecutive terms.
Ronald Reagan40th president, 1981–1989, Republican. Film actor and governor of California before the White House.
Ulysses S. Grant18th president, 1869–1877, Republican. Commanding general who led the Union Army to victory in the Civil War.
William McKinley25th president, 1897–1901, Republican. Led the country through the Spanish-American War in 1898.

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All 45 presidents

1789–1849 11

Andrew Jackson 7th president, 1829–1837, Democratic. General who won the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.
George Washington 1st president, 1789–1797, no party. The only president elected unanimously by the Electoral College.
James K. Polk 11th president, 1845–1849, Democratic. Led the country through the Mexican-American War.
James Madison 4th president, 1809–1817, Democratic-Republican. Known as the Father of the Constitution.
James Monroe 5th president, 1817–1825, Democratic-Republican. The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 carries his name.
John Adams 2nd president, 1797–1801, Federalist. First president to live in the White House, from November 1800.
John Quincy Adams 6th president, 1825–1829, Democratic-Republican. Son of the 2nd president; sat in the House 1831–1848.
John Tyler 10th president, 1841–1845, Whig. First vice president to succeed a president who died in office.
Martin Van Buren 8th president, 1837–1841, Democratic. The only president whose first language, Dutch, was not English.
Thomas Jefferson 3rd president, 1801–1809, Democratic-Republican. Chief writer of the Declaration of Independence.
William Henry Harrison 9th president, March to April 1841, Whig. Died after 31 days in office, the shortest presidency.

Show all 45 presidents (34 more)

1849–1901 13

Abraham Lincoln 16th president, 1861–1865, Republican. Led the Union in the Civil War; issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Andrew Johnson 17th president, 1865–1869, National Union. First president to be impeached; acquitted by one Senate vote.
Benjamin Harrison 23rd president, 1889–1893, Republican. Grandson of the 9th president, William Henry Harrison.
Chester A. Arthur 21st president, 1881–1885, Republican. Signed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883.
Franklin Pierce 14th president, 1853–1857, Democratic. Signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.
Grover Cleveland 22nd and 24th president, 1885–1889 and 1893–1897, Democratic. First to serve two non-consecutive terms.
James A. Garfield 20th president, March to September 1881, Republican. Shot four months into his term; died that September.
James Buchanan 15th president, 1857–1861, Democratic. The only president who never married.
Millard Fillmore 13th president, 1850–1853, Whig. The last president from the Whig Party.
Rutherford B. Hayes 19th president, 1877–1881, Republican. Won the disputed 1876 election by one electoral vote, 185 to 184.
Ulysses S. Grant 18th president, 1869–1877, Republican. Commanding general who led the Union Army to victory in the Civil War.
William McKinley 25th president, 1897–1901, Republican. Led the country through the Spanish-American War in 1898.
Zachary Taylor 12th president, 1849–1850, Whig. Career army general who died after 16 months in office.

1901–1953 8

Calvin Coolidge 30th president, 1923–1929, Republican. Sworn in by his father, a notary, at the family home in Vermont.
Franklin D. Roosevelt 32nd president, 1933–1945, Democratic. Elected four times; led through the Depression and World War II.
Harry S. Truman 33rd president, 1945–1953, Democratic. Took office late in World War II; set up the Marshall Plan.
Herbert Hoover 31st president, 1929–1933, Republican. Mining engineer in office when the stock market crashed in 1929.
Theodore Roosevelt 26th president, 1901–1909, Republican. Youngest person to become president; 1906 Nobel Peace Prize.
Warren G. Harding 29th president, 1921–1923, Republican. Owned Ohio's Marion Star newspaper; died in office in San Francisco.
William Howard Taft 27th president, 1909–1913, Republican. Later chief justice, the only person to hold both offices.
Woodrow Wilson 28th president, 1913–1921, Democratic. Led the country in World War I; 1919 Nobel Peace Prize.

1953–today 13

Barack Obama 44th president, 2009–2017, Democratic. Senator from Illinois before; 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.
Bill Clinton 42nd president, 1993–2001, Democratic. Governor of Arkansas before his two terms.
Donald Trump 45th and 47th president, 2017–2021 and since 2025, Republican. Second to serve two non-consecutive terms.
Dwight D. Eisenhower 34th president, 1953–1961, Republican. Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during World War II.
George H. W. Bush 41st president, 1989–1993, Republican. Navy pilot in World War II; vice president from 1981 to 1989.
George W. Bush 43rd president, 2001–2009, Republican. Was Governor of Texas, 1995 to 2000.
Gerald Ford 38th president, 1974–1977, Republican. The only president never elected president or vice president.
Jimmy Carter 39th president, 1977–1981, Democratic. 2002 Nobel Peace Prize; at 100, the longest-lived US president.
Joe Biden 46th president, 2021–2025, Democratic. Senator from Delaware for 36 years; vice president 2009–2017.
John F. Kennedy 35th president, 1961–1963, Democratic. At 43, the youngest person ever elected president.
Lyndon B. Johnson 36th president, 1963–1969, Democratic. Signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Richard Nixon 37th president, 1969–1974, Republican. Visited China in 1972; the only president to resign.
Ronald Reagan 40th president, 1981–1989, Republican. Film actor and governor of California before the White House.

How this list was compiled: The list is closed and complete: 45 people have held 47 presidencies, because Grover Cleveland (22nd and 24th) and Donald Trump (45th and 47th) each served two non-consecutive terms and get one card each. Last checked 2026-09-18. Numbers, term years, parties and birth and death years were read from the Miller Center's page for each president (https://millercenter.org/president) and compared line by line with Wikipedia's list of presidents (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_United_States, revision of 2026-09-15, which names Donald Trump as the incumbent since January 20, 2025); the two agreed on every number and year. Vice presidents were compared with the Library of Congress chronological list (https://guides.loc.gov/presidents-portraits/chronological). The second sentence on each card was read against the president's own English Wikipedia article, read live, and anything the article did not support was cut. The White House's own list of presidents could not be opened on the check date; the archived copy at https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/ stops at the 46th president, so it was used only as a cross-check of the order. Party notes: Washington belonged to no party (the Miller Center files him as a Federalist); John Tyler was elected as a Whig and expelled by the party five months into his term; Andrew Johnson, a Democrat, was elected vice president on the National Union ticket and sits under Other parties. Parties show the label each president held when first elected. The five living presidents (Clinton, G. W. Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden) were confirmed as living on the check date and carry office facts only. Reviewed every quarter and after every inauguration or death; next review due by 2026-12-18. Licence: own work

How it works

All 45 people who have held the office since 1789 are in this random president generator, and each press draws five. Each card gives the president's number, years in office, party and one checked fact. Three rows narrow the draw to an era, a party, or the fifteen who were vice president first.

Read the full guide

Why 45 cards cover 47 presidencies

Grover Cleveland counts as the 22nd and 24th president and Donald Trump as the 45th and 47th, because each returned to office after another president's term. Each has one card carrying both numbers, so no draw repeats a name. Eras sort presidents by the year they first took office: 11 before 1849, 13 from 1849 to 1900, 8 from 1901 to 1952 and 13 since 1953. Parties hold 19 Republicans, 15 Democrats and 11 from older parties or none.

Quiz rounds, research topics and classroom draws

For a quiz, read a card's second sentence aloud and ask for the name. Teachers handing out research topics give each student one name from a draw. Or draw 10 and line the cards up in order of office; the number on each card settles it.

The Vice president first chip holds 15 names. Eight took over when a president died in office, and Gerald Ford when one resigned.
Press Hide all answers, allow one minute and give the number and party behind each of the five names.
Rows combine: 1953–today with Republican leaves seven, and with Vice president first it leaves five, from Lyndon B. Johnson to Joe Biden.

Questions and answers

How many US presidents have there been?

Forty-five people across 47 presidencies, as of September 18, 2026. The numbering counts presidencies, not people, and two presidents came back after a gap: Cleveland in 1893 and Trump, in office since January 20, 2025. The list is reviewed every quarter and after every inauguration.

Where do the facts come from, and how are living presidents handled?

Numbers, years and parties come from the Miller Center's presidential pages, compared with Wikipedia's list of presidents and the Library of Congress chronology; last checked September 18, 2026. The five living presidents get the same card as the rest: office, years, party and one career fact, with no photos and nothing about family, health, money, legal matters or opinions. Send corrections through the contact page.

Who sits under Other parties and none?

George Washington, who joined no party, plus one Federalist, four Democratic-Republicans, four Whigs and Andrew Johnson, a Democrat elected vice president on the National Union ticket in 1864. John Tyler is filed as a Whig: the party elected him, then expelled him five months into his term.