This timeline details all US Presidents from 1789 to 2021
See also: Republican Presidential Tickets (Nominees)
Democratic Presidential Tickets (Nominees)
No Political Party
30th April 1789 – 4th March 1797
George Washington was unanimously elected first US President following the American War of Independence.
Federalist
4th March 1797 – 4th March 1801
Former ambassador to Britain and Vice President to George Washington
Democratic Republican
4th March 1801 – 4th March 1809
Former Vice President to John Adams, Jefferson gained in popularity and was re-elected for a second term in 1805
James Madison
Democratic Republican
4th March 1809 – 4th March 1817
Former Secretary of State to Thomas Jefferson Madison is known for his work on the constitution and the Bill of Rights
James Monroe
Democratic Republican
4th March 1817 – 4th March 1825
Former Secretary of State to James Madison Monroe served two terms of office
John Quincy Adams
Democratic Republican
4th March 1825 – 4th March 1829
Son of John Adams, 2nd President and former Secretary of state to James Monroe
Andrew Jackson
Democratic
4th March 1829 – 4th March 1837
Jackson served two terms as President
Martin Van Buren
Democratic
4th March 1837 – 4th March 1841
Former Vice President to Andrew Jackson served one term as president
William Henry Harrison
Whig
4th March 1841 – 4th April 1841
Former Minister to Colombia, Harrison died after serving just one month as President.
John Tyler
Whig
4th April 1841 – 4th March 1845
Former Vice President, he took over as President following the death of Harrison.
James K Polk
Democratic
4th March 1845 – 4th March 1849
Former Governor of Tennessee, James Polk served one term as President
Zachary Taylor
Whig
4th March 1849 – 9th July 1850
Former army General, Taylor died after serving 15 months as President
Millard Fillmore
Whig
9th July 1850 – 4th March 1853
Former Vice President became President when Taylor died
Franklin Pierce
Democratic
4th March 1853 – 4th March 1857
Former army Brigadier General, Pierce served one term as President
James Buchanan
Whig
4th March 1857 – 4th March 1861
Former Minister to the United Kingdom Buchanan served one term.
Abraham Lincoln
Republican
4th March 1861 – 15th April 1865
President during the American Civil War. He famously made the Gettysburg Address in which he declared all men equal. He introduced the Thirteenth Amendment into federal law which outlawed slavery in America.
Andrew Johnson
Democratic
15th April 1865 – 4th March 1869
Former Vice President Johnson served one term as President
Ulysses Grant
Republican
4th March 1869 – 4th March 1877
Former Commander of the Confederate army, Grant served two terms as President
Rutherford B Hayes
Republican
4th March 1877 – 4th March 1881
Former Governor of Ohio he served one term as President.
James A Garfield
Republican
4th March 1881 – 19th September 1881
James A Garfield was assassinated after just six months as President.
Chester A Arthur
Republican
19th September 1881 – 4th March 1885
Former Vice President Chester A Arthur took over when Garfield was assassinated
Grover Cleveland
Democratic
4th March 1885 – 4th March 1889
Former Governor of New York Cleveland served for one term
Benjamin Harrison
Republican
4th March 1889 – 4th March 1893
Former US Senator, Harrison served one term
Grover Cleveland
Democratic
4th March 1893 – 4th March 1897
Former President Cleveland was returned for a second term. Cleveland is the only President to serve two non-consecutive terms.
William McKinley
Republican
4th March 1897 – 14th September 1901
Former Governor of Ohio, McKinley was re-elected for a second term but was assassinated on 14th September 1901
Theodore Roosevelt
Republican
14th September 1901 – 4th March 1909
Former Vice President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt took over as President. He was re-elected in 1905
William Howard Taft
Republican
4th March 1909 – 4th March 1913
Former Secretary of State for War Taft served for one term
Woodrow Wilson
Democratic
4th March 1913 – 4th March 1921
Former Governor of New Jersey Wilson served for two terms and was President during World War One
Warren G Harding
Republican
4th March 1921 – 2nd August 1923
Former U S Senator Harding died while serving a first term
Calvin Coolidge
Republican
2nd August 1923 – 4th March 1929
Served – 4th March 1925
First Term 4th March 1925 –
First Term 4th March 1925 –
Details
Former Vice President Coolidge took over after Harding died of natural causes. He was won the election in 1925
Herbert Hoover
Republican
4th March 1929 – 4th March 1933
Former Secretary of state Hoover served for one term
Franklin D Roosevelt
Democratic
4th March 1933 – 12th April 1945
Former Governor of New York, Roosevelt, known as FDR, is the only man to have served 4 terms as President. He was president during World War Two and was a key figure on the World stage. He died while serving his 4th term.
Harry S Truman
Democratic
12th April 1945 – 20th January 1953
Former Vice President Truman took over after the death of FDR. He was President for the closing stages of World War Two and signed the order to drop the atomic bomb. He was elected as president in 1949.
Dwight D Eisenhower
Republican
20th January 1953 – 20th January 1961
Former Supreme Allied Commander during World War Two Eisenhower served two terms as President. He was committed to opposing Communism and sent troops into Korea and Vietnam.
Democratic
20th January 1961 – 22nd November 1963
Former Senator known as JFK. He was the youngest President to be elected and the first Catholic. He was committed to ending the war in Vietnam. He was assassinated while in office and speculation continues as to the identity of the assassin(s)
Democratic
22nd November 1963 – 20th January 1969
Former Vice President he took over after JFK was assassinated. Often referred to as LBJ he was committed to improving civil rights but also committed more troops to Vietnam which led to protests and disturbances.
Richard Nixon
Republican
20th January 1969 – 9th August 1974
Former Vice President to Eisenhower, Nixon served two terms. He resigned in August 1974 following the Watergate scandal.
Gerald Ford
Republican
9th August 1974 – 20th January 1977
Former Vice President he took over after Nixon resigned. He lost the 1977 election
Jimmy Carter
Democratic
20th January 1977 – 20th January 1981
Former Governor of Georgia Carter served for one term
Ronald Reagan
Republican
20th January 1981 – 20th January 1989
Former Governor of California Reagan survived an assassination attempt and served two terms as President. He embarked on an arms race with the USSR and later negotiated with Gorbachev to help end the Cold War.
George H W Bush
Republican
20th January 1989 – 20th January 1993
Former Vice President he served for one term. He was President during the Gulf War
Bill Clinton
Democratic
20th January 1993 – 20th January 2001
Former Governor of Arkansas, Clinton was a popular President who served for two full terms.
George W Bush
Republican
20th January 2001 – 20th January 2009
Son of George H W Bush and former Governor of Texas he was President at the time of the 9/11 attack and began the War on Terror
Barack Obama
Democratic
20th January 2009 – 19th January 2017
Former US Senator Obama was the first African-American President. He continued the War on Terror and sent troops to kill Osama Bin Laden. He was committed to social reform and met resistance from the Republican Party for his medical reforms (Obamacare).
Republican
20th January 2017 – 19th January 2021
Businessman Donald Trump, with no military or political experience became 45th US President. He led the United States through the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic and was the first President to be impeached twice.
Joe Biden
Democratic
20th January 2021 –
Joe Biden beat Donald Trump to become 46th US President.
First published 2013; Updated and re-published Oct 04 2020 @ 6:30 pm – Updated – [last-modified]
Harvard Reference for this page:
Heather Y Wheeler. (2013 – 2020). US Presidents 1789 – Present Day. https://www.thetimelinegeek.com/us-presidents-1789-present-day.htm. Last accessed [date]