Classical Presidents

I'm sure you've always wondered which of our American presidents is well-versed in their classics, right? Well, here's list!
By George Pesely, Dept. of History, Austin Peay State University.

  1. James Garfield taught classical languages at the Eclectic Institute in Hiram, Ohio, for a year (1856-57). He had recently graduated from Williams College in Massachussetts, whose [resident was Mark Hopkins. Garfield later said, "The ideal college is Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and a student on the other."
  2. John Addams studied Latin and Greek and somewhere calls Greek the most perfect humn language. He thought that Thucydidies' analysis of the causes of the Pelonessian War fit the causes of the American War of Independence (The British feared the growing power of America).
  3. Thomas Jefferson learned Greek and Latin.
  4. James Madison "remained proficient in Latin and Greek all his life and poured over the ancient texts again and again," according to William A. DeGregorio (The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents). DeGregorio doesn't say what he poured over them ^_^
  5. James Monroe studied Latin.
  6. John Quincy Adams "mastered Latin, Greek, French, Dutch, and, to a lesser extent, Spanish" (DeGregorio.)
  7. Andrew Jackson "studied the classics."
  8. Martin Van Buren "studied Latin briefly."
  9. William Henry Harrison "studied classical languages." That may have contributed to his death in office -- his inaugural address took an hour and forty minutes to deliver and was full of references to Roman history. He caught a cold and died a month later.
  10. John Tyler's education included the classics.
  11. James K. Polk received a classical education at the University of North Carolina and gave an address in Latin at commencement.
  12. Franklin Pierce had to pass exams in Latin composition and Greek translation to enter Bowdoin College and studied the classical languages further as a student there.
  13. James Buchanan studied Latin and Greek.
  14. Theodore Roosevelt studied the ancient languages, but evidently did not do well in them.
  15. Woodrow Wilson studied Latin and Greek while a student at Davidson College.
  16. Warren G. Harding studied Latin.
  17. Calvin Coolidge "studied modern and ancient languages, becoming quite proficient in Greek" (DeGregorio).
  18. Franklin D. Roosevelt won the Latin Prize while a student at Groton.
  19. Harry S. Truman's "favorite subjects were history and Latin" (DeGregorio).
  20. Gerald R. Ford took Latin but did poorly in it (maybe he was trying to chew gum at the same time).