On today’s historical date, October 30, 1735, John Adams was born.
Little slobbering baby John was the son of a farmer.
At the same time, he was a descendant of Plymouth Rock pilgrims.
He was born in one of my favorite town names. Braintree, Massachusetts.
Braintree, Massachusetts, is named after the town of Braintree in Essex, England. But it is not clear how the English Braintree got its name. If there are two things I love, it is a tree and a brain. Put those things together, and you have something like those apple-throwing trees from The Wizard of Oz, or The Great Deku Tree from The Legend of Zelda. Either way. I like a good Braintree.
Anyway.
John. John Adams.
Most of us know he was the second President of the United States.
And certainly, we’ve seen the movies and know the history.
But here are a few things.
A lot of us think of him as being a little fellow. But he was not our shortest president.
That would be James Madison.
Yep. The five shortest US presidents in order are:
James Madison (5’4″)
William McKinley (5’6.5″)
John Quincy Adams (5’7″)
John Adams (5’7″)
Benjamin Harrison (5’8″)
Regardless of his height, he was a hard worker. But how do they say?
Work smarter, not harder.
As such, he is not regarded in the ranks of the “top” presidents of the United States.
In general, they are:
Abraham Lincoln
George Washington
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Thomas Jefferson
But back to Adams. He did well enough. And, in addition to being president, Adams lived to see his son, John Quincy Adams, become president in 1825. They weren’t the only father / son duo in the White House.
There were:
George Bush and George W. Bush:
George H.W. Bush served as the 41st President of the United States from 1989 to 1993.
His son, George W. Bush, served as the 43rd President from 2001 to 2009.
Benjamin Harrison and William Henry Harrison:
William Henry Harrison served as the 9th President of the United States in 1841 but died after just one month in office.
His grandson, Benjamin Harrison, served as the 23rd President from 1889 to 1893.
And, of course, John Adams and John Quincy Adams:
John Adams, second President. And John Quincy, sixth.
So. Yes. Today is John Adams’ birthday.
He lived 90 years.
And that, was that.
“””””””””
That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history.
— Aldous Huxley
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The past actually happened but history is only what someone wrote down.
— A. Whitney Brown
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Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
— Confucius
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He’s Number Two. He’s Number Two.
