PREZ.THD --- Copyright 1987 by Phil Wheeler An original compilation of Compuserve Model 100 Forum messages for use by Forum members only. The contest entry USA.100 (DL14) has led to speculation and "infotrivia" about who was the first "president". This file captures early messages re USA.100 and the following "Soapbox" discussions. Message range: 156141 to 156276 Dates: 9/1/87 to 9/4/87 Sb: USA.100 to DL14... Fm: Bill Templeton 75655,1056 To: Tony Anderson 76703,4062 Just uploaded Super ROM/Lucid worksheet which can be called USA.100, USA.102 or USA.CA, whichever you think best. Used Rick Perry's CHANGE.BA in DL7 to convert from .CA to HEX, and Phil's QKRCHK.BA to calculate the checksum... This spreadsheet entry to catagory E of the contest contains some interesting facts about the 44 Presidents of the USA (past & present). It also provides an interesting exercize in using Super Lucid's 2-key sort to find out such things as how many Presidents were born Ohio (the most), and how many were republican or democrat, etc... Fm: Bill Templeton 75655,1056 To: Tony Anderson 76703,4062 I will upload new description, as there have been only 40 Presidents... my spreadsheet starts at row 5 and extends to row 44... but the count should be only 40! Once you have USA.CA onboard (requires Super ROM), you can find out all sorts of trivia facts about these 40 Presidents... Example, if you use... +sum(h5:h44)/cnt(h5:h44) /You will find the average life span of all 40 Presidents was 70 years, including Reagan, Carter, Ford and Nixon. If you eliminate the living 4 from the bottom of the list, and use: +sum(h5:h40)/cnt(h5:h40) The average life span becomes 69... If you use +MIN(h5:h44), you'll learn that the youngest President (Kennedy) was only 46 when he was assassinated, or by using +MAX(h5:h44), you will find the age of the oldest living President to be 91 (Adams). Fm: Tony Anderson 76703,4062 To: Bill Templeton 75655,1056 Actually, it is a little know fact that George Washington was not the first president... there was one before him; and that there were about 17 or so before the Constitution was drawn. Does your file take those into consideration. I'd like to see that information in print somewhere... the few times I've seen references to the subject, they only mention it, and go on to "declare" Washington first. Fm: Bill Templeton 75655,1056 To: Tony Anderson 76703,4062 No, Tony, my Super Lucid spreadsheet starts with George and ends with Ronald... Have read similar stories, but the World Book Encyclopedia and others I used as a reference did not confirm any before George... Fm: Tony Anderson 76703,4062 To: Bill Templeton 75655,1056 I know... it's maddening. It's mentioned, and in fact has even showed up on some of the game shows... but where to confirm it??? Fm: Bill Templeton 75655,1056 To: Tony Anderson 76703,4062 Will see if I can find out any details on the name and particulars of the chief the came just before Washington. Fm: Bill Templeton 75655,1056 To: Tony Anderson 76703,4062 Called three public libraries close to home (Danville, Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill- CA), and they all said George was the first President of the USA, however prior to George, there were several Presidents of the 1st and 2nd Contenental Congress of America (from 1774 to 1789)... Apparently, the foll. 14 men were elected to head the our country before the Constitution was drafted, but their power was very limited, as compared to the power given to Washington in 1789 when he became U.S. President: Payton Randolph Henry Middleton John Hancock Henry Laurens John Jay Samuel Huntington Thomas McKean John Hanson Elias Boudinot Thomas Mifflin Richard Henry Lee Nathaniel Gorham Arthur St. Clair Cyrus Griffin Also found in the '87 Guinness Book of World Records the foll. U.S. Pres's who played college football: Eisenhower at West Point. Kennedy tried out for the team at Harvard. Nixon at Whittier College, in California. Ford at Michigan, where he played on a national championship team and later captained the varsity. Reagan at Eureka College, in Illinois. How's that for trivia... Bill Fm: Tony Anderson 76703,4062 To: Bill Templeton 75655,1056 Well, there are a lot of anomalies in the record of the presidency... Why, for example, if the country was founded in 1776, was George Washington not "elected" president until 1789... who was "president" between 1776 and 1789? However, since the "Office of President" was created by the Continental Congress in 1789, it appears that previous "presidents" were only presidents of the Continental Congress... not of the United States. Incidently, George Washington was "chosen" as first president, not elected, by the Continental Congress. (source: New Webster's Dictionary of the English Language, Delair Publishing, 1981 edition) But the real question in point, was there a president who served in the office before George Washington seems to be buried in obscure texts... maybe somewhere like "History of the Presidency" or something... It is universally recognized that George was the first president... even though, apparently, he was not "elected" by the populace. But there is still that nagging reference that there was someone before him... who served only a day or two, and is lost in the "official" history of the office. By the way, do you know how many VP's acceeded to the Presidency? 12. That includes those who were subsequently elected, and those who acceeded by virtue of death or resignation of the Pres. How many VP's did not acceed to the office, but were later elected to the office? (not the following term) 1; Richard Nixon. How many presidents served without a VP? 4! John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, and Chester Arthur. Question is why??? In Fillmore's case, it may be that no one would run with him! (grin) Wonder if Gerry Ford was as inept in college football as he appeared on US TV during his term of office? Fm: Mark Lutton 73106,1627 To: Bill Templeton 75655,1056 Did you know about the fellow who was President of the United States for only one day, and who slept through most of his presidency? James Knox Polk's last day as President was Saturday, March 3, 1849. Zachary Taylor refused to be sworn in on a Sunday, and he was not sworn in until Monday, March 5. By the law at the time, the Presidency devolved to the president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, David Rice Atchison. As he had been up late for several nights with Senate work, and nothing much was going on in the way of crises, he spent most of that day resting up in bed. He was not one to take advantage of bizarre circumstances. He himself wasn't sure whether he was President or not, because his term as president pro tem of the Senate expired on March 3 and he was not reelected until March 5. So -- who WAS President on 3/4/1849??