reference archive

Presidents of the United States

Complete presidency reference organized by numbered office in a structured, archive-style format.

Reference Content • Permanently Archived

Overview

This U.S. Institutions section contains only one module: Presidents of the United States. It lists the numbered presidencies in chronological order. Content is organized in a consistent reference structure for each president: identity, office term, party, birth and death data, achievements, historical actions, and key events during the presidency.

Structural Framework

1st President: George Washington (1789-1797)

Wikipedia-style profile summary for reference use inside U.S. Institutions.

Full Name: George Washington
Order number: 1st President
Years in office: 1789-1797
Political party: No formal party affiliation (aligned with Federalist policies)
Date of birth: February 22, 1732
Place of birth (City, State): Westmoreland County, Virginia
Date of death: December 14, 1799
Place of death (City, State): Mount Vernon, Virginia
Major achievements: Established core executive precedents, including a two-term norm and a neutral cabinet process.
Important historical actions: Led federal authority during the Whiskey Rebellion and issued the Neutrality Proclamation (1793).
Key events during presidency: Ratification of the Bill of Rights and early institutional formation of the federal government.

2nd President: John Adams (1797-1801)

Wikipedia-style profile summary for reference use inside U.S. Institutions.

Full Name: John Adams
Order number: 2nd President
Years in office: 1797-1801
Political party: Federalist Party
Date of birth: October 30, 1735
Place of birth (City, State): Braintree, Massachusetts
Date of death: July 4, 1826
Place of death (City, State): Quincy, Massachusetts
Major achievements: Avoided full-scale war with France through diplomacy and the Convention of 1800.
Important historical actions: Signed the Alien and Sedition Acts, which triggered major constitutional debate.
Key events during presidency: Quasi-War with France and peaceful transfer of power in the election of 1800.

3rd President: Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)

Wikipedia-style profile summary for reference use inside U.S. Institutions.

Full Name: Thomas Jefferson
Order number: 3rd President
Years in office: 1801-1809
Political party: Democratic-Republican Party
Date of birth: April 13, 1743
Place of birth (City, State): Shadwell, Virginia
Date of death: July 4, 1826
Place of death (City, State): Monticello, Virginia
Major achievements: Completed the Louisiana Purchase, doubling U.S. territory.
Important historical actions: Sponsored the Lewis and Clark Expedition and reduced direct federal taxation.
Key events during presidency: Embargo Act of 1807 and major expansion of national geographic scope.

4th President: James Madison (1809-1817)

Wikipedia-style profile summary for reference use inside U.S. Institutions.

Full Name: James Madison
Order number: 4th President
Years in office: 1809-1817
Political party: Democratic-Republican Party
Date of birth: March 16, 1751
Place of birth (City, State): Port Conway, Virginia
Date of death: June 28, 1836
Place of death (City, State): Montpelier, Virginia
Major achievements: Guided U.S. leadership during the War of 1812 and postwar stabilization.
Important historical actions: Signed measures encouraging domestic manufacturing after wartime disruptions.
Key events during presidency: War of 1812, burning of Washington, and the Treaty of Ghent.

5th President: James Monroe (1817-1825)

Wikipedia-style profile summary for reference use inside U.S. Institutions.

Full Name: James Monroe
Order number: 5th President
Years in office: 1817-1825
Political party: Democratic-Republican Party
Date of birth: April 28, 1758
Place of birth (City, State): Monroe Hall, Virginia
Date of death: July 4, 1831
Place of death (City, State): New York City, New York
Major achievements: Established the Monroe Doctrine as a core U.S. foreign-policy principle.
Important historical actions: Supported national infrastructure discussions during the Era of Good Feelings.
Key events during presidency: Missouri Compromise and articulation of Western Hemisphere non-colonization policy.

How It Functions

How This Reference Is Organized

Each presidency is presented as an independent record so readers can scan chronologically or jump to a specific numbered office. Nonconsecutive presidencies are listed by office number, which is why Grover Cleveland appears as both the 22nd and 24th president and Donald J. Trump appears as both the 45th and 47th president.

Profiles use the same field order for consistency: full name, office order, term years, party, birth and death details, major achievements, important actions, and key events.

How to Interpret Numbering and Terms

Presidential numbering follows official order of presidencies rather than unique individuals. One person can hold more than one numbered presidency if terms are nonconsecutive.

Years in office are shown as date ranges for each numbered presidency to preserve historical sequence and constitutional transitions.

Current Office Holder Status

As of February 18, 2026, the current president is Donald J. Trump, serving as the 47th President of the United States after inauguration on January 20, 2025.

For time-sensitive office-holder data, this module keeps an explicit data section with a last-updated year label.

Key Terms and Definitions

Presidency Number: The official ordinal order of a presidency in U.S. constitutional succession (1st through 47th, etc.).
Nonconsecutive Terms: When the same individual serves separate presidential terms that are interrupted by another presidency, resulting in multiple presidency numbers.
Years in Office: The date span in which a specific numbered presidency exercised executive authority.
Political Party: The party affiliation associated with the presidential election and administration period.
Key Events During Presidency: Major national or international events materially shaping the context and outcomes of that presidency.

Practical Relevance

A single, standardized presidency reference helps with civic literacy, historical chronology, and institutional context. It allows readers to quickly compare leadership periods, constitutional transitions, and major executive-era events without switching across multiple subsections.

Reference Data

Reference snapshot: 2026

Office-holder and chronology data are time-sensitive and should be checked periodically.

Item	Value	Note
Current president	Donald J. Trump	47th President of the United States (inaugurated January 20, 2025)
Total numbered presidencies listed	47	From George Washington (1st) through Donald J. Trump (47th)
Source basis	Wikipedia president list and president biography pages	Compiled in a standardized field structure for this site module

Institutional and Legal Foundations

This module is designed as a durable reference. Interpretations and applications typically rely on categories of authoritative sources and institutional practice rather than transient commentary.

Constitutional provisions and amendment structures
Federal and state statutory frameworks
Landmark Supreme Court decisions and judicial doctrines
Administrative governance models and agency rulemaking
Historical institutional developments shaping current practice