List of Presidents of the United States by age

This is a list of United States Presidents by age. This table can be sorted to display United States Presidents by name, order of office, date of birth, age at inauguration, length of retirement, or lifespan. Age at inauguration is determined by the day a president assumed office, not the day of the election.

Two measures of longevity are given; this is to allow for the differing number of leap days occurring within the life of each President. The first figure is the number of days between date of birth and date of death, allowing for leap days; in parentheses the same period given in years and days, with the years being the number of whole years the President lived, and the days being the remaining number of days after his last birthday. Where the president in question is still living, the longevity is calculated up to February 23, 2012.

Overview

The median age of accession is roughly 54 years and 11 months, which falls between Herbert Hoover (22nd youngest) and Lyndon B. Johnson (23rd). The youngest person to assume office by any means was Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt (age 42), who became president following William McKinley's assassination. The youngest president elected to office was John F. Kennedy (age 43 years, 236 days). The oldest president to assume office was Ronald Reagan (age 69 years, 349 days). The oldest living former president is George H. W. Bush, born June 12, 1924 (aged &1000000000000008700000087 years, &10000000000000264000000264 days). Jimmy Carter is the second-oldest, only 111 days younger than Bush. Carter was born October 1, 1924 (aged &1000000000000008700000087 years, &10000000000000153000000153 days). The youngest living former president is Bill Clinton, born August 19, 1946 (aged &1000000000000006500000065 years, &10000000000000196000000196 days), closely followed by George W. Bush, only 44 days older, born July 6, 1946 (aged &1000000000000006500000065 years, &10000000000000240000000240 days). The youngest living president is the incumbent, Barack Obama, born August 4, 1961 (aged &1000000000000005000000050 years, &10000000000000211000000211 days).

The longest-lived president was Gerald Ford, who died at the age of 93 years and 165 days. Ronald Reagan was the second longest-lived, only 45 days short of Ford. The oldest living president, George H. W. Bush, will tie Reagan if he lives to October 10, 2017 and tie Ford if he lives to November 24, 2017. The second oldest living president, Jimmy Carter, will tie Reagan if he lives to January 29, 2018 and tie Ford if he lives to March 15, 2018. The shortest-lived president was John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated at the age of 46 years and 177 days. The shortest-lived president to die a natural death was James K. Polk, who died at the age of 53 years and 225 days.

The president with the longest retirement was Herbert Hoover, who died 11,553 days after leaving the presidency. Jimmy Carter currently has the second-longest retirement, and he will tie Hoover if he lives to September 7, 2012. The president with the shortest retirement was James K. Polk, who died 103 days after leaving the presidency.

Barack Obama became the fifth-youngest person inaugurated as President, at 47 years and 169 days old. Theodore Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, and Ulysses S. Grant, in that order, were younger than Obama when they took the oath of office; Grover Cleveland was about six months older (see table below).

List of Presidents

Sources

• Frank Freidel and Hugh S. Sidey, "The Presidents of the United States". The White House.
• Robert S. Summers, "POTUS: Presidents of the United States". Internet Public Library.