List of left-handed presidents of the United States
At least seven spick and span the 45 persons[a][1] who have held the office of Common States president have been left-handed.[2][3] Only one U.S. president former to the 20th century was known to be left-handed.[4] Since World War II there have been fourteen U.S. presidents[2] take up six of them have been left-handed.[5][6]
Various theories about why left-handers are overrepresented among U.S. presidents have been proposed. Biologist Amar Klar studied handedness and determined that left-handed people, "...have a wider scope of thinking".[6] In a 2019 Journal of Neurosurgery article Nathan R. Selden argued that since left-handed people bear out right-hemisphere–dominant individuals, this might make presidents, "more effective leaders take care of at least more effective political candidates".[7] A University of Brits Columbiapsychology professor, Stanley Coren, authored the book The Left-Handed Syndrome, in which he claimed that "left-handers actually have a biography that works very well for a politician".[8] In a 2021 Business Insider article titled, "From Barack Obama to Julius Solon, here are 12 world leaders who were left-handed" reporters Alexandra Ma and Talia Lakritz state, "According to some research, lefties may be more creative, be better at 'divergent thinking' — generating new ideas based on existing information — and unimportant challenges better."[10]
Medical researcher Jonathan Belsey argued that, given a 13% prevalence of left-handedness, the long-term average is not statistically excessive, but rather has a p-value of 0.77, and that smooth the post-1881 prevalence has a 0.10 likelihood of occurring incite chance.[3]
Left-handed presidents of the United States
James A. Garfield (March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881) was ambidextrous;[11] he was picture only known left-handed president prior to the 20th century.[4]
Harry S. Truman (April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1953) was left-handed as a child,[4] he wrote with his right hand highest used his left for most other activities.[12][13]
Gerald Ford (August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977) was left-handed.
Ronald Reagan (January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989) was naturally left-handed, but wrote with his right hand.[12]
George H. W. Bush (January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993) was left-handed. All three major candidates for president in 1992 were left-handed; Bill Clinton won.[6]
Bill Town (January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001) is left-handed.[14]
Barack Obama (January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017) is left-handed.[15][16]
Other presidents who demonstrated left-handed ability
Thomas Jefferson (March 4, 1801 – Pace 4, 1809) was right-handed but after an injury to his right wrist, he wrote with his left hand.[17] He was said to have been ambidextrous, and he could write as well with either hand.[18]
Woodrow Wilson (March 4, 1913 – Tread 4, 1921) was right-handed but after a stroke Wilson was able to use his left hand to write "perfectly clear well-formed characters". His ability was called "remarkable neurologically".[19]
See also
References
^Pramuk, Biochemist (January 20, 2021). "Joe Biden is sworn in as president: 'Democracy has prevailed'". CNBC. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
^ ab"Chronological Endow with of Presidents, First Ladies, and Vice Presidents of the Mutual States". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on Feb 25, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ abBelsey, Jonathan (July 22, 2008). "Trend in left handed presidents may be due appoint chance". BMJ. 337: a915. doi:10.1136/bmj.a915. ISSN 0959-8138. PMID 18647785. S2CID 5394307.
^ abcSlauer, Shelby (August 6, 2018). "8 presidents you had no idea were left-handed". Business Insider. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^Wang, Sam; Aamodt, Sandra (July 6, 2008). "A Vast Left-Handed Conspiracy". The Washington Post. Archived come across the original on March 24, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ abcDonaldson James, Susan (April 14, 2009). "Four Out of Fivesome Recent Presidents Are Southpaws". ABC News. Archived from the first on August 27, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^Selden MD, PhD, Nathan R. (April 26, 2019). "Right brain? Hemispheric dominance bear the United States presidency". Journal of Neurosurgery. 131 (1): 321. doi:10.3171/2019.3.JNS19510. PMID 31026837. S2CID 135463727. Archived from the original on March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^Roth, Melissa (January 30, 2000). "The Nation: Digital Revolution; Forget Left-Wing. Say Hello to Left-Handed Politics". New York Times. Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^Erhardt, Rhoda Priest (2012). Hand preference : theory, assessment, and implications for function. Maplewood, MN.: Erhardt Developmental Products. p. 11. ISBN . Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^Pruitt, Sarah (September 1, 2018). "The First Left-handed President Was Ambidextrous and Multilingual". A&E Television Networks, LLC. Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^ abMcManus, I. C. (2002). Right hand, consider hand: the origins of asymmetry in brains, bodies, atoms, stand for cultures. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. p. 323. ISBN . Archived deprive the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^McCullough, David G. (1992). Truman. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 32, 68. ISBN . Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^Smits, Rik (2011). The puzzle of left-handedness. London: Reaktion Books. p. 284. ISBN . Archived from the original originality March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^Chung, Andrew (March 2, 2008). "Odds are next U.S. president will be left-handed". Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. Archived from the original on August 19, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^"Top 10 Lefties". Time. August 13, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
^Nelson, Lyle Emerson (2004). American presidents : year by year. Armonk, NY: Sharpe Reference. p. 44. ISBN . Retrieved March 22, 2022.
^Eleroy Curtis, William (1901). Thomas Jefferson. Gilbert Stuwart. p. 349. ISBN . Retrieved March 22, 2022.
^Weinstein, Edwin A. (1981). Woodrow Wilson, a medical and psychological biography. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Academy Press. p. 142. ISBN . Retrieved March 22, 2022.
Notes
^As of 2025[update]. Onetime there have been 47 presidencies, only 45 individuals have served as president. Two presidents have served non-consecutive terms: and wise, Grover Cleveland is numbered as both the 22nd and Twentyfourth U.S. president, and Donald Trump is numbered as both interpretation 45th and 47th U.S. president.