US Presidential Nicknames
Honest Abe
Abraham Lincoln
The Great Emancipator
Abraham Lincoln
The Rail-Splitter
Abraham Lincoln
The Tycoon
Abraham Lincoln
King Andrew the First
Andrew Jackson
Old Hickory
Andrew Jackson
Hero of New Orleans
Andrew Jackson (war of 1812 Battle of New Orleans)
Father of the Homestead Act
Andrew Johnson
Sir Veto
Andrew Johnson
The Tennessee Tailor
Andrew Johnson
The Centennial President
Benjamin Harrison
The Front Porch Campaigner
Benjamin Harrison
Little _______
Benjamin Harrison ("Little Ben" was 5'6" - tied for second shortest with Martin Van Buren)
The Sphinx of the Potomac
Calvin Coolidge
Silent _________
Calvin Coolidge was "Silent Cal"
Chet
Chester A. Arthur
Walrus
Chester A. Arthur
The Dude President
Chester A. Arthur (luxurious tastes)
Duckpin
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Ike
Dwight D. Eisenhower
The Kansas Cyclone
Dwight D. Eisenhower (football nickname at West Point)
FDR
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
The Squire of Hyde Park
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
The Sphinx
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (cagey about whether he'd seek a 3rd term)
The Fainting General
Franklin Pierce (artillery blast in Mexican War blew the saddle off Pierce's horse and drove the saddle-horn hard into his abdomen, causing him to lose consciousness for a few minutes)
Handsome _______
Franklin Pierce was "Handsome Frank"
Father of Our Country
George Washington
Jerry
Gerald R. Ford
Mr. Nice Guy
Gerald R. Ford
Uncle Jumbo
Grover Cleveland
The Hangman of Buffalo
Grover Cleveland (as Sheriff of Erie County, NY, he personally hanged 2 men)
His Obstinacy
Grover Cleveland (more vetoes than all prior presidents combined)
The Beast of Buffalo
Grover Cleveland (referred to false rumors that he was a wife beater)
The Senator from Pendergast
Harry S Truman (ties to MO political boss Tom Pendergast)
Give 'Em Hell _______
Harry S Truman was "Give 'Em Hell Harry" (also a campaign slogan)
Haberdasher _________
Harry S Truman was "Haberdasher Harry" (owned a haberdashery in Kansas City, MO from 1919 to 1921)
The Great Humanitarian
Herbert Hoover (dates to 1921 when American Relief Administration under Hoover saved millions of Russians from famine. Later used facetiously to refer to his apparent indifference to Great Depression)
The Great Engineer
Herbert Hoover (degree from Stanford in Engineering, policies helped building of Boulder Dam, later renamed....)
The Chief
Herbert Hoover (received at 23 as a geologist studying Australian Outback. Nickname stuck for life)
Old Buck
James Buchanan
Ten-Cent Jimmy
James Buchanan
The Do-Nothing President
James Buchanan
Jimmy
James Earl Carter
The Peanut Farmer
James Earl Carter
President Malaise
James Earl Carter (used word in 1979 speech)
The Canal Boy
James Garfield (canal driver near Cleveland at age 16 AND pushed for building Panama Canal as president)
The Preacher President
James Garfield (lay preacher, Disciples of Christ)
Boatman Jim
James Garfield (worked as canal driver near Cleveland for 6 weeks at age 16)
Napoleon of the Stump
James Knox Polk
Young Hickory
James Knox Polk (protégé of "Old Hickory" aka Andrew Jackson)
The Father of the Constitution
James Madison
His Little Majesty
James Madison (shortest president at 5'4")
The Era of Good Feelings President
James Monroe
The Last of the Crooked Hats
James Monroe
The Colossus of Independence
John Adams
Old Sink or Swim
John Adams ("To sink or swim; to live or die; survive or perish with my country")
His Rotundity
John Adams (looks fine to me)
JFK
John F. Kennedy
Jack
John F. Kennedy
The King of Camelot
John F. Kennedy
Old Man Eloquent
John Quincy Adams
The Abolitionist
John Quincy Adams (as congressman, routinely brought up slavery issue against Congressional rules. Defended slaves in Amistad case)
Acting President _______
John Tyler (first VP to have pres die. Constitution was unclear. Tyler returned mail to "Acting President Tyler" unopened.)
His Accidency
John Tyler (only became president because William Henry Harrison died)
LBJ
Lyndon B. Johnson
Landslide _________
Lyndon B. Johnson ("Landslide Lyndon" won early primary by only 87 votes)
The Little Magician
Martin Van Buren (5'6" - tied for second shortest with Benjamin Harrison)
Old Kinderhook
Martin Van Buren (born in Kinderhook, NY)
The Mistletoe Politician
Martin Van Buren (nourished by sap of hickory tree, i.e. Andrew Jackson aka "Old Hickory")
The Accidental President
Millard Fillmore
Tricky Dick
Richard Milhous Nixon
The Mad Monk
Richard Milhous Nixon (Given to him by White House aide John Ehrlichman)
Gloomy Gus
Richard Milhous Nixon (given by fellow students at Duke Law School)
Boss Thief
Rutherford B. Hayes
His Fraudulency
Rutherford B. Hayes
Granny ______
Rutherford B. Hayes ("Granny Hayes" referred to straitlaced no liquor, gambling, smoking or fun attitude)
Old 8 to 7
Rutherford B. Hayes (referred to losing popular vote to Samuel Tilden and winning by 1 electoral vote after court battles and maybe back room deals)
President De Facto
Rutherford B. Hayes (referred to losing popular vote to Samuel Tilden and winning by 1 electoral vote after court battles and maybe back room deals)
Rutherfraud
Rutherford B. Hayes (referred to losing popular vote to Samuel Tilden and winning by 1 electoral vote after court battles and maybe back room deals)
The Great Usurper
Rutherford B. Hayes (referred to losing popular vote to Samuel Tilden and winning by 1 electoral vote after court battles and maybe back room deals)
The Hero of San Juan Hill
Theodore Roosevelt
The Lion
Theodore Roosevelt
The Rough Rider
Theodore Roosevelt
The Trust Buster
Theodore Roosevelt
The Sage of Monticello
Thomas Jefferson
Unconditional Surrender _______
U(lysses) S. Grant = Unconditional Surrender Grant
The Hero of Appomattox
Ulysses S. Grant
The Galena Tanner
Ulysses S. Grant (dad owned leather goods store in Galena IL)
Old Tippecanoe
William Henry Harrison
Big Chief
William Howard Taft
Big Lub
William Howard Taft (boyhood nickname)
Old Bill
William Howard Taft (nickname at Yale)
The Idol of Ohio
William McKinley
The Liberator of Cuba
William McKinley
The Napoleon of Protection
William McKinley (referred to tariffs)
Wobbly ________
Wobbly Willie was William McKinley Wobbly Warren was Warren G. Harding
The Schoolmaster in Politics
Woodrow Wilson
The Professor
Woodrow Wilson (professor at, then president of Princeton)
The Phrasemaker
Woodrow Wilson (wrote own speeches)
Old Rough and Ready
Zachary Taylor
