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 that 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 April 30, 2015.

Overview

Age of presidents when assuming office approximately follows a bell curve (mean age marked by red line, c. 55 years)

The average age of accession is 54 years and 11 months, which falls between Herbert Hoover (22nd) and Lyndon B. Johnson (23rd). The youngest person to assume office was 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), who was also the youngest to leave office (age 46 years and 177 days) when he was assassinated. The oldest president to assume office was Ronald Reagan (age 69 years, 349 days), who was also the oldest in office (age 77 years, 349 days), ending at the inauguration of George H. W. Bush.

The oldest living president is George H. W. Bush, born June 12, 1924 (aged 90 years, 322 days). Jimmy Carter is the second-oldest, 111 days younger than Bush. Carter was born October 1, 1924 (aged 90 years, 211 days). The youngest living former president is Bill Clinton, born August 19, 1946 (aged 68 years, 254 days), followed by George W. Bush, 44 days older, born July 6, 1946 (aged 68 years, 298 days). The youngest living president is the incumbent, Barack Obama, born August 4, 1961 (aged 53 years, 269 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, 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 of cholera at the age of 53 years and 225 days. Since the presidency began, the longest period of time without the death of a president has been 26 years, 202 days between the death of George Washington and the same-day deaths of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

The president with the longest retirement is Jimmy Carter, at 12,518 days. Carter achieved this record on September 8, 2012, surpassing Herbert Hoover, who died 11,553 days after leaving the presidency. Hoover held the record for more than 54 years, from July 5, 1958, when he surpassed John Adams, until September 8, 2012, when Carter surpassed Hoover. Adams, only the second president to retire, had held the record for over a century and a half, since December 14, 1803. The president with the shortest retirement was James K. Polk, who died 103 days after leaving the presidency.

List of Presidents

#
 President
 Date of birth
 Date of
inauguration		 Age at
inauguration
End date of
presidency		 Age at
retirement
 Length of
retirement
 Date of death
 Lifespan
1 George Washington February 22, 1732[1] April 30, 1789 57 years, 67 days March 4, 1797 65 years, 10 days 1,015 days December 14, 1799 24,767 days (67 years, 295 days)
2 John Adams October 30, 1735[1] March 4, 1797 61 years, 125 days March 4, 1801 65 years, 125 days 9,253 days July 4, 1826 33,119 days (90 years, 247 days)
3 Thomas Jefferson April 13, 1743[1] March 4, 1801 57 years, 325 days March 4, 1809 65 years, 325 days 6,331 days July 4, 1826 30,397 days (83 years, 82 days)
4 James Madison March 16, 1751[1] March 4, 1809 57 years, 353 days March 4, 1817 65 years, 353 days 7,056 days June 28, 1836 31,150 days (85 years, 104 days)
5 James Monroe April 28, 1758 March 4, 1817 58 years, 310 days March 4, 1825 66 years, 310 days 2,313 days July 4, 1831 26,729 days (73 years, 67 days)
6 John Quincy Adams July 11, 1767 March 4, 1825 57 years, 236 days March 4, 1829 61 years, 236 days 6,930 days February 23, 1848 29,446 days (80 years, 227 days)
7 Andrew Jackson March 15, 1767 March 4, 1829 61 years, 354 days March 4, 1837 69 years, 354 days 3,018 days June 8, 1845 28,574 days (78 years, 85 days)
8 Martin Van Buren December 5, 1782 March 4, 1837 54 years, 89 days March 4, 1841 58 years, 89 days 7,812 days July 24, 1862 29,085 days (79 years, 231 days)
9 William Henry Harrison February 9, 1773 March 4, 1841 68 years, 23 days April 4, 1841 N/A[2] N/A[2] April 4, 1841 24,890 days (68 years, 54 days)
10 John Tyler March 29, 1790 April 4, 1841 51 years, 6 days March 4, 1845 54 years, 340 days 6,164 days January 18, 1862 26,227 days (71 years, 295 days)
11 James K. Polk November 2, 1795 March 4, 1845 49 years, 122 days March 4, 1849 53 years, 122 days 103 days June 15, 1849 19,583 days (53 years, 225 days)
12 Zachary Taylor November 24, 1784 March 4, 1849 64 years, 100 days July 9, 1850 N/A[2] N/A[2] July 9, 1850 23,967 days (65 years, 227 days)
13 Millard Fillmore January 7, 1800 July 9, 1850 50 years, 183 days March 4, 1853 53 years, 56 days 7,674 days March 8, 1874 27,088 days (74 years, 60 days)
14 Franklin Pierce November 23, 1804 March 4, 1853 48 years, 101 days March 4, 1857 52 years, 101 days 4,601 days October 8, 1869 23,695 days (64 years, 319 days)
15 James Buchanan April 23, 1791 March 4, 1857 65 years, 315 days March 4, 1861 69 years, 315 days 2,646 days June 1, 1868 28,163 days (77 years, 39 days)
16 Abraham Lincoln February 12, 1809 March 4, 1861 52 years, 20 days April 15, 1865 N/A[3] N/A[3] April 15, 1865 20,516 days (56 years, 62 days)
17 Andrew Johnson December 29, 1808 April 15, 1865 56 years, 107 days March 4, 1869 60 years, 65 days 2,340 days July 31, 1875 24,320 days (66 years, 214 days)
18 Ulysses S. Grant April 27, 1822 March 4, 1869 46 years, 311 days March 4, 1877 54 years, 311 days 3,063 days July 23, 1885 23,098 days (63 years, 87 days)
19 Rutherford B. Hayes October 4, 1822 March 4, 1877 54 years, 151 days March 4, 1881 58 years, 151 days 4,337 days January 17, 1893 25,673 days (70 years, 105 days)
20 James A. Garfield November 19, 1831 March 4, 1881 49 years, 105 days September 19, 1881 N/A[3] N/A[3] September 19, 1881 18,202 days (49 years, 304 days)
21 Chester A. Arthur October 5, 1829 September 19, 1881 51 years, 349 days March 4, 1885 55 years, 150 days 624 days November 18, 1886 20,863 days (57 years, 44 days)
22 Grover Cleveland March 18, 1837 March 4, 1885[4] 47 years, 351 days March 4, 1889 51 years, 351 days 5,590 days[5] June 24, 1908 26,030 days (71 years, 98 days)
23 Benjamin Harrison August 20, 1833 March 4, 1889 55 years, 196 days March 4, 1893 59 years, 196 days 2,930 days March 13, 1901 24,676 days (67 years, 205 days)
24 Grover Cleveland March 18, 1837 March 4, 1893[4] 55 years, 351 days March 4, 1897 59 years, 351 days 5,590 days[5] June 24, 1908 26,030 days (71 years, 98 days)
25 William McKinley January 29, 1843 March 4, 1897 54 years, 34 days September 14, 1901 N/A[3] N/A[3] September 14, 1901 21,412 days (58 years, 228 days)
26 Theodore Roosevelt October 27, 1858 September 14, 1901 42 years, 322 days March 4, 1909 50 years, 128 days 3,595 days January 6, 1919 21,985 days (60 years, 71 days)
27 William Howard Taft September 15, 1857 March 4, 1909 51 years, 170 days March 4, 1913 55 years, 170 days 6,213 days March 8, 1930 26,471 days (72 years, 174 days)
28 Woodrow Wilson December 28, 1856 March 4, 1913 56 years, 66 days March 4, 1921 64 years, 66 days 1,066 days February 3, 1924 24,507 days (67 years, 37 days)
29 Warren G. Harding November 2, 1865 March 4, 1921 55 years, 122 days August 2, 1923 N/A[2] N/A[2] August 2, 1923 21,091 days (57 years, 273 days)
30 Calvin Coolidge July 4, 1872 August 2, 1923 51 years, 29 days March 4, 1929 56 years, 243 days 1,403 days January 5, 1933 22,099 days (60 years, 185 days)
31 Herbert Hoover August 10, 1874 March 4, 1929 54 years, 206 days March 4, 1933 58 years, 206 days 11,553 days October 20, 1964 32,943 days (90 years, 71 days)
32 Franklin D. Roosevelt January 30, 1882 March 4, 1933 51 years, 33 days April 12, 1945 N/A[2] N/A[2] April 12, 1945 23,082 days (63 years, 72 days)
33 Harry S. Truman May 8, 1884 April 12, 1945 60 years, 339 days January 20, 1953 68 years, 257 days 7,280 days December 26, 1972 32,373 days (88 years, 232 days)
34 Dwight D. Eisenhower October 14, 1890 January 20, 1953 62 years, 98 days January 20, 1961 70 years, 98 days 2,989 days March 28, 1969 28,654 days (78 years, 165 days)
35 John F. Kennedy May 29, 1917 January 20, 1961 43 years, 236 days November 22, 1963 N/A[3] N/A[3] November 22, 1963 16,978 days (46 years, 177 days)
36 Lyndon B. Johnson August 27, 1908 November 22, 1963 55 years, 87 days January 20, 1969 60 years, 146 days 1,463 days January 22, 1973 23,524 days (64 years, 148 days)
37 Richard Nixon January 9, 1913 January 20, 1969 56 years, 11 days August 9, 1974[6] 61 years, 212 days 7,196 days April 22, 1994 29,688 days (81 years, 103 days)
38 Gerald Ford July 14, 1913 August 9, 1974 61 years, 26 days January 20, 1977 63 years, 190 days 10,932 days December 26, 2006 34,133 days (93 years, 165 days)
39 Jimmy Carter October 1, 1924 January 20, 1977 52 years, 111 days January 20, 1981 56 years, 111 days 12,518 days 33,083 days (90 years, 211 days)
40 Ronald Reagan February 6, 1911 January 20, 1981 69 years, 349 days January 20, 1989 77 years, 349 days 5,615 days June 5, 2004 34,088 days (93 years, 120 days)
41 George H. W. Bush June 12, 1924 January 20, 1989 64 years, 222 days January 20, 1993 68 years, 222 days 8,135 days 33,194 days (90 years, 322 days)
42 Bill Clinton August 19, 1946 January 20, 1993 46 years, 154 days January 20, 2001 54 years, 154 days 5,213 days 25,091 days (68 years, 254 days)
43 George W. Bush July 6, 1946 January 20, 2001 54 years, 198 days January 20, 2009 62 years, 198 days 2,291 days 25,135 days (68 years, 298 days)
44 Barack Obama August 4, 1961 January 20, 2009 47 years, 169 days Incumbent Incumbent 19,627 days (53 years, 269 days)
# President Date of birth Date of
inauguration		 Age at
inauguration		 End date of
presidency		 Age at
retirement
 Length of
retirement		 Date of death Lifespan
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Birthdate as changed to New Style.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Died in office (not assassinated).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Assassinated.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms, which are listed separately.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cleveland was a former president for 4 years after his first term plus another 11 years after his second term.
  6. ↑ Nixon resigned on this date.

Oldest living United States Presidents

Not all presidents live to become the oldest of their time. Of the 38 presidents who have died, 23 eventually became the oldest of their time, while 15 did not (including the 8 who died in office and 7 others). Herbert Hoover became the oldest living president when Calvin Coolidge died in 1933 (when Hoover was still president) and remained so until his death, for a record of more than 31 years. Lyndon B. Johnson became the oldest living president after the death of Harry S. Truman, but he outlived Truman by only 27 days. On three occasions the oldest living president lost this distinction, not by his death, but due to the nation electing a president who was older. Theodore Roosevelt lost this distinction when William Taft was elected, then four years later Taft lost it when Woodrow Wilson was elected, and, more recently, Richard Nixon lost it when Ronald Reagan was elected. Furthermore, although Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest man ever to be a former president (at age 49), he was the only living president or former president by the end of his term. Consequently, Taft was the oldest living president twice: first during his presidency (having succeeded the younger Roosevelt), and a second time after Wilson (his successor as president but an older man) died. Gerald Ford was the oldest to acquire this distinction (at age 90).

President Became oldest living president Ceased to be oldest living president Age at start date Age at end date Duration (years, days) Duration (days)
Washington, GeorgeGeorge Washington April 30, 1789 December 14, 1799 57 years, 67 days 67 years, 295 days 10 years, 228 days 3,880 days
Adams, JohnJohn Adams December 14, 1799 July 4, 1826 64 years, 45 days 90 years, 247 days 26 years, 202 days 9,698 days
Madison, JamesJames Madison July 4, 1826 June 28, 1836 75 years, 110 days 85 years, 104 days 9 years, 360 days 3,647 days
Jackson, AndrewAndrew Jackson June 28, 1836 June 8, 1845 69 years, 105 days 78 years, 85 days 8 years, 345 days 3,267 days
Adams, John QuincyJohn Quincy Adams June 8, 1845 February 23, 1848 77 years, 332 days 80 years, 227 days 2 years, 260 days 990 days
Van Buren, MartinMartin Van Buren February 23, 1848 July 24, 1862 65 years, 80 days 79 years, 231 days 14 years, 151 days 5,265 days
Buchanan, JamesJames Buchanan July 24, 1862 June 1, 1868 71 years, 92 days 77 years, 39 days 5 years, 313 days 2,139 days
Fillmore, MillardMillard Fillmore June 1, 1868 March 8, 1874 68 years, 146 days 74 years, 60 days 5 years, 280 days 2,106 days
Johnson, AndrewAndrew Johnson March 8, 1874 July 31, 1875 65 years, 69 days 66 years, 214 days 1 years, 145 days 510 days
Grant, Ulysses S.Ulysses S. Grant July 31, 1875 July 23, 1885 53 years, 95 days 63 years, 87 days 9 years, 357 days 3,645 days
Hayes, Rutherford B.Rutherford B. Hayes July 23, 1885 January 17, 1893 62 years, 292 days 70 years, 105 days 7 years, 178 days 2,735 days
Harrison, BenjaminBenjamin Harrison January 17, 1893 March 13, 1901 59 years, 150 days 67 years, 205 days 8 years, 55 days 2,976 days
Cleveland, GroverGrover Cleveland March 13, 1901 June 24, 1908 63 years, 360 days 71 years, 98 days 7 years, 103 days 2,660 days
Roosevelt, TheodoreTheodore Roosevelt June 24, 1908 March 4, 1909 49 years, 241 days 50 years, 128 days 253 days 253 days
Taft, William HowardWilliam Howard Taft March 4, 1909 March 4, 1913 51 years, 170 days 55 years, 170 days 4 years, 0 days 1,461 days
Wilson, WoodrowWoodrow Wilson March 4, 1913 February 3, 1924 56 years, 66 days 67 years, 37 days 10 years, 336 days 3,988 days
Taft, William HowardWilliam Howard Taft February 3, 1924 March 8, 1930 66 years, 141 days 72 years, 174 days 6 years, 33 days 2,225 days
Coolidge, CalvinCalvin Coolidge March 8, 1930 January 5, 1933 57 years, 247 days 60 years, 185 days 2 years, 303 days 1,034 days
Hoover, HerbertHerbert Hoover January 5, 1933 October 20, 1964 58 years, 148 days 90 years, 71 days 31 years, 289 days 11,611 days
Truman, Harry S.Harry S. Truman October 20, 1964 December 26, 1972 80 years, 165 days 88 years, 232 days 8 years, 67 days 2,989 days
Johnson, Lyndon B.Lyndon B. Johnson December 26, 1972 January 22, 1973 64 years, 121 days 64 years, 148 days 27 days 27 days
Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon January 22, 1973 January 20, 1981 60 years, 13 days 68 years, 11 days 7 years, 364 days 2,920 days
Reagan, RonaldRonald Reagan January 20, 1981 June 5, 2004 69 years, 349 days 93 years, 120 days 23 years, 137 days 8,537 days
Ford, GeraldGerald Ford June 5, 2004 December 26, 2006 90 years, 327 days 93 years, 165 days 2 years, 204 days 934 days
Bush, George H. W.George H. W. Bush December 26, 2006 Current oldest living president 82 years, 197 days Current oldest living president 8 years, 125 days 3,047 days
President Became oldest living president Ceased to be oldest living president Age at start date Age at end date Duration (years, days) Duration (days)

See also

Sources