Warren G. Harding

29th President Warren G. Harding, 1921-192329th President Warren G. Harding, 1921-192329th President Warren G. Harding, 1921-192329th President Warren G. Harding, 1921-192329th President Warren G. Harding, 1921-192329th President Warren G. Harding, 1921-1923

29th President Warren G. Harding, 1921-1923

29th President of the United States
(March 4, 1921 to August 2, 1923)

Full Name: Warren Gamaliel Harding
Nickname: None listed.

Born: November 2, 1865, near Corsica (now Blooming Grove), Ohio
Died: August 2, 1923, in San Francisco, California

Father: George Tyron Harding (1843-1928)
Mother: Phoebe Elizabeth Dickerson Harding (1843-1910)
Married: Florence Kling De Wolfe (1860-1924), on July 8, 1891
Children: Elizabeth Ann Christian (1919-2005) (illegitimate child by Nan Britton)

Religion: Baptist
Education: Graduated from Ohio Central College (1882)
Occupation: Editor-Publisher
Political Party: Republican
Other Government Positions:

  • Member of Ohio State Senate, 1900-04
  • Lieutenant-Governor of Ohio, 1904-06
  • United States Senator, 1915-21

Presidential Salary: $75,000/year

Presidential Election Results:

YearCandidatePopular VotesElectoral Votes
1920Warren G. Harding16,143,407404
(map)John M. Cox9,130,328127

Vice President: Calvin Coolidge (1921-23)

Cabinet:

Secretary of State
Charles Evans Hughes (1921-23)
Secretary of the Treasury
Andrew W. Mellon (1921-23)
Secretary of War
John W. Weeks (1921-23)
Attorney General
Harry M. Daugherty (1921-23)
Postmaster General
William H. Hays (1921-22
Hubert Work (1922-23)
Harry S. New (1923)
Secretary of the Navy
Edwin Denby (1921-23)
Secretary of the Interior
Albert B. Fall (1921-23)
Hubert Work (1923)
Secretary of Agriculture
Henry C. Wallace (1921-23)
Secretary of Commerce
Herbert Hoover (1921-23)
Secretary of Labor
James J. Davis (1921-23)

Supreme Court Justices:
William Howard Taft, Chief (1921-1930)
George Sutherland (1922-1938)
Pierce Butler (1923-1939)
Edward Terry Sanford (1923-1930)

Notable Events:
  • 1921
    • On May 19, Harding signed the Emergency Quota Act limiting the number if immigrants allowed to enter the U.S. and placing quotas by country of origin.
    • On July 2, Harding signed a resolution declaring the official end of the war with Germany.
    • On November 23, Harding signed the Sheppard-Towner Act to provide funds for adequate medical care for women and children.
  • 1922
    • On April 7, Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall leased the Teapot Dome oil reserves to Harry Sinclair, setting in motion the Teapot Dome Scandal.
Internet Biographies:
Warren G. Harding -- from The Presidents of the United States of America
Compiled by the White House.
Warren Harding -- from The American President
From the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, in addition to information on the Presidents themselves, they have first lady and cabinet member biographies, listings of presidential staff and advisers, and timelines detailing significant events in the lives of each administration.
Warren G. Harding -- from Encyclopaedia Britannica
Facts about Harding and his presidency.
Videos:
Historical Documents:
Inaugural Address (1921)
Warren Harding Digital Collections - from the Library of Congress

 

Other Internet Resources:
The Best Biographies of Warren Harding
In 2012, Stephen Floyd started his search for the best biography of each president. He usually has reviews of multiple biographies for each president.
Harding Home Presidential Site
The Harding home from 1891-1921 has been a museum since 1926. Tours of the home and the Press House, museum, and gift shop.
Health and Medical History of Warren Harding
Medical background of each president with references. Compiled by John Sotos, MD.
Points of Interest:

380 Mt Vernon Ave, Marion, OH 43302

San Francisco, California

Blooming Grove, Ohio

SE corner of Vernon Heights Blvd & Deleware Ave, Marion, Ohio
Additional Facts:
  • He was the first newspaper publisher to be elected president.
  • Both of Harding's parents were doctors.
  • He suffered nervous breakdowns at the age of 24 and had to spend some time in a sanitarium.
  • One of his sisters was a Washington, D.C. policewoman.
  • Harding was the first president to ride to his inauguration in an automobile.
  • He was the first president to own a radio and the first to speak over the radio airwaves.
  • Harding was the first president to visit Canada and Alaska.
  • While president, Harding played golf, poker twice a week, followed baseball and boxing, and sneaked off to burlesque shows. His advisors were known as the "Poker Cabinet" because they all played poker together.
  • Harding wore size fourteen shoes. He had the largest feet of the presidents.
  • Harding was the first president to be survived by his father.
  • Harding was elected president on his 55th birthday - November 2, 1920.
  • Harding was the first president elected while a sitting Senator.
Quotes:

“Our most dangerous tendency is to expect too much of government, and at the same time do for it too little.”

“”My God, this is a hell of a job! I have no trouble with my enemies . . . but my damn friends, they’re the ones that keep me walking the floor nights.”

“Ambition is a commendable attribute without which no man succeeds. Only inconsiderate ambition imperils.”

“America’s present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration.”

Previous President: Woodrow Wilson
Next President: Calvin Coolidge