List of left-handed United States presidents

List of left-handed United States presidents - There have been 45 men who have held the office of United States president.[1] Only one U.S. president prior to the 20th century was known to be left-handed.[2] Since World War II there have been fourteen different U.S. Presidents[1] and six of them have been left-handed.[3]

Barack Obama signing with his left hand

To explain why some presidents are left-handed scientists and historians have said, it is related to thinking differently which can be seen as an admirable political strength.[4]

Biologist Amar Klar studied handedness and determined that left-handed people, "...have a wider scope of thinking".[4] In a 2019 Journal of Neurosurgery article Nathan R. Selden MD, PhD stated, since left-handed people are right-hemisphere–dominant individuals, this might make presidents, "...more effective leaders or at least more effective political candidates".[5] A University of British Columbia psychology professor Stanley Coren, authored the book The Left-Handed Syndrome. In his book he has stated, "Left-handers actually have a profile that works very well for a politician".[6]

Left-handed United States presidents
  • George H. W. Bush President from January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993 all three candidates for president in 1992 were left-handed: George H. W. Bush won.[4]
  • Bill Clinton President from January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001 left-handed.[7]
  • Gerald Ford President from August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977 left handed with a reputation for being clumsy.[8]
  • James A. Garfield President from March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881 he was ambidextrous,[9] he was the only known left-handed President prior to the 20th century.[2]
  • Herbert Hoover President from March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933 left-handed.[10]
  • Barack Obama President from January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017 left-handed.[11]
  • Ronald Reagan President from January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989 left-handed but wrote with his right hand.[8]
  • Harry S. Truman President from April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1953 left-handed as a child,[2] he wrote with his right hand and used his left for most other activities.[8][12]

Other presidents who demonstrated left-handed ability
  • Woodrow Wilson March 4, 1913 – March 4, 1921 was right handed but after a stroke Wilson was able use his left hand to write "perfectly legible well formed characters". His ability was called "remarkable neurologically".[13]
  • Thomas Jefferson March 4, 1801 – March 4, 1809 was right handed but after an injury to his right wrist, he wrote with his left hand.[14] He was said to have been ambidextrous, and he could write equally well with either hand.[15]

See also

References
  1. "Chronological List of Presidents, First Ladies, and Vice Presidents of the United States". Library of Congress. Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 25 February 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  2. Slauer, Shelby (6 August 2018). "8 presidents you had no idea were left-handed". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  3. Wang, Sam; Aamodt, Sandra (6 July 2008). "A Vast Left-Handed Conspiracy". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  4. Donaldson James, Susan (14 April 2009). "Four Out of Five Recent Presidents Are Southpaws". ABC News. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  5. Selden MD, PhD, Nathan R. (26 April 2019). "Right brain? Hemispheric dominance and the United States presidency". Journal of Neurosurgery. 131 (1): 321. doi:10.3171/2019.3.JNS19510. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  6. Roth, Melissa (30 January 2000). "The Nation: Digital Revolution; Forget Left-Wing. Say Hello to Left-Handed Politics". New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  7. Smits, Rik (2011). The puzzle of left-handedness. London: Reaktion Books. p. 284. ISBN 978-1861898739. Archived from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  8. McManus, I. C. (2002). Right hand, left hand : the origins of asymmetry in brains, bodies, atoms, and cultures. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. p. 323. ISBN 978-0674016132. Archived from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  9. Pruitt, Sarah (1 September 2018). "The First Left-handed President Was Ambidextrous and Multilingual". A&E Television Networks, LLC. Archived from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  10. Erhardt, Rhoda Priest (2012). Hand preference : theory, assessment, and implications for function. Maplewood, MN.: Erhardt Developmental Products. p. 11. ISBN 978-1930282667. Archived from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  11. Chung, Andrew (2 March 2008). "Odds are next U.S. president will be left-handed". Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  12. McCullough, David G. (1992). Truman. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 32, 68. ISBN 978-0671869205. Archived from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  13. Weinstein, Edwin A. (1981). Woodrow Wilson, a medical and psychological biography. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. p. 142. ISBN 978-0691614960. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  14. Nelson, Lyle Emerson (2004). American presidents : year by year. Armonk, NY: Sharpe Reference. p. 44. ISBN 978-0765680464. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  15. Eleroy Curtis, William (1901). Thomas Jefferson. Gilbert Stuwart. p. 349. Retrieved 22 March 2022.

Further reading
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