Here are some quick facts, opinions, quotes and other information on President Calvin Coolidge:
Personal Information on Calvin Coolidge:
- Thirtieth President (1923-1929)
- Birthday: July 4, 1872 (Thursday)
- Birthplace: Plymouth, Vermont
- Birthplace Website: President Calvin Coolidge’s Birthplace
- Zodiac Sign: Cancer
- Date of Death: January 5, 1933 (Thursday)
- Place of Death: Northampton, Massachusetts
- Place of Burial: North Cemetery, Plymouth Notch, Vermont
- Burial Website: President Calvin Coolidge’s Grave
- Cause of Death: Heart attack
- Age: 60 years old
- Length of Retirement: 1403 days
- Presidential Library: Forbes Library, Northampton’s Public Library
Interesting Calvin Coolidge facts:
- Calvin Coolidge my have been know as Silent Cal, but you sure can’t tell it by some of the advances he put forward. Coolidge signed the Radio Act of 1927. It replace the Radio Act of 1912 because radio technology had now advanced to include broadcasting. The government wanted more control over the radio bands. Coolidge’s second Inauguration was the first Presidential Inauguration broadcast over the radio. Coolidge was also the first President to appear in a film with sound. Lee DeForest filmed the President in President Coolidge, Taken on the White House Grounds.
- Presidents didn’t hold many news conferences before Calvin Coolidge. Coolidge tried to change that. From Coolidge to the present (Barack Obama), Coolidge averaged more news conferences per year than any President. He averaged 72.9 news conferences per year for the years he served. FDR was second and he averaged 72.66 per year for each of the years he served. The next closest President was Harry Truman who had a distant 41.73 news conferences per year average. Coolidge also had the second most total news conferences, with 407. FDR, who served many more years than Coolidge, had a total of 881 news conferences. Through November 20, 2016, our current President Obama, has had a total of 162 news conferences (an average of 20.69 news conferences per year). Gerald Ford (who didn’t even serve a full term) has had the least at 40 news conferences (16.32 per year). Ronald Reagan (who served two full terms) was the second least at 46 news conferences (5.75 per year, which is the lowest average per year).
- Calvin Coolidge is the only President to have his likeness on a US coin while he was still alive. Coolidge, along with George Washington, had their images on the 1926 Sesquicentennial of American Independence Half Dollar.
My favorite Calvin Coolidge Quotes:
It takes a great man to be a good listener.
I have never been hurt by anything I didn’t say.
We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once.
If you don’t say anything, you won’t be called on to repeat it.
The chief business of the American people is business.
It is our theory that the people own the government, not that the government should own the people.
Never go out to meet trouble. If you will just sit still, nine cases out of ten someone will intercept it before it reaches you.
When a great many people are unable to find work, unemployment results.
Calvin Coolidge blogs (click the title to go to that page):
Calvin Coolidge page on Presidential Crossroads (click “Calvin Coolidge” below):
Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge Blogs:
Meeting His Wife and His Death
President Harding’s Death and Coolidge’s Swearing In
What similiar trait do I have with Presidents Harding to LBJ
Personal thoughts on Calvin Coolidge:
Strengths:
Thought before he talked, no nonsense, favored limited government, integrity
Weaknesses:
Didn’t talk much, Opposed government infrastructure assistance
Presidential Greatness Scale (1-poor to 5-great): 4
Comments:
Calvin Coolidge, like me, wasn’t a big fan of the government being overly involved in regulating Americans’ daily lives. To him, big government was bad news. He hated debt and believed the government should only spend as much as it brought in. He was the original supply-side (when you lower taxes, revenues will increase, not decrease, because businesses will hire more and then their employees will have more money to spend) economics professor. He brought back integrity to the Presidency after the scandal filled Presidency of Warren G. Harding. He talked very little, but he got a lot done.
Favorite Calvin Coolidge book:
The Quotable Calvin Coolidge – Sensible Words for a New Century compiled and edited by Peter Hannaford
Favorite Calvin Coolidge story:
A woman once bet her friends she could get Calvin Coolidge to say more than three words. She thought she could get Coolidge to help her with her plot. She told him about her bet to get him to say more than three words. Calvin’s response to her, “You lose.”
Most memorable Calvin Coolidge memory:
I really haven’t had much of an opportunity to do any Calvin Coolidge exploring yet. One of my favorite things to do with Calvin Coolidge is to read his quotes. For a man of few words he has some really inspirational quotes.
Favorite Calvin Coolidge possession (see picture at the top):
A Topps American Treasures card showing Calvin Coolidge in a cowboy outfit
Fascinating!!