This is a list of Presidents of the United States by age. The first table charts the age of each United States President at the time of presidential inauguration (first inauguration if elected to multiple and consecutive terms), upon leaving office, and at the time of death. Each president's lifespan (age at death) is measured in two ways, to allow for the differing number of leap days that each experienced. The first figure is the number of days between the President's date of birth and date of death, allowing for leap days; in parentheses, the same period is given in years and days, with the years being the number of whole years that the president lived, and the days being the number of days since the last birthday. Where the President is still living, lifespan is calculated up to March 13, 2017. The second table includes those presidents who had the distinction among their peers of being the oldest living president, and charts both when they became and ceased to be oldest living.
Contents
Overview
The average age of accession is 54 years and 11 months, which falls between Herbert Hoover (22nd) and Lyndon B. Johnson (23rd). The youngest person to assume office was Theodore Roosevelt, who became president following William McKinley's assassination, at the age of 7009135324000000000♠42 years, 322 days. The youngest president elected to office was John F. Kennedy, who assumed office at the age of 7009137736720000000♠43 years, 236 days, who was also the youngest to leave office when he was assassinated, at the age of 7009146694240000000♠46 years, 177 days. The oldest president to assume office is Donald Trump, who was 7009222804000000000♠70 years, 220 days old when he assumed office. Ronald Reagan was the oldest in office, at the age of 7009246008880000000♠77 years, 349 days when he left office.
The oldest living former president is George H. W. Bush, born June 12, 1924 (aged 7009292697280000000♠92 years, 274 days). Jimmy Carter is the second-oldest, 111 days younger than Bush. Carter was born October 1, 1924 (aged 7009291738240000000♠92 years, 163 days). The youngest living former president is Barack Obama, born August 4, 1961 (aged 7009175476240000000♠55 years, 221 days).
The longest-lived president was Gerald Ford, who died at the age of 93 years and 165 days. Ronald Reagan was the second longest-lived, 45 days fewer than Ford. The shortest-lived president was John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated at the age of 46 years and 177 days. The shortest-lived president to die a natural death was James K. Polk, who died of cholera at the age of 53 years and 225 days. The president with the longest retirement is Jimmy Carter, at 13,201 days. Carter achieved this record on September 8, 2012, surpassing Herbert Hoover, who died 11,553 days after leaving the presidency. The president with the shortest retirement was James K. Polk, who died 103 days after leaving the presidency.
The greatest number of presidents alive at any given time, including the incumbent, has been six. This has occurred four times. The first (including Martin Van Buren, John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan and Abraham Lincoln) took place between Lincoln's inauguration on March 4, 1861 and Tyler's death on January 18, 1862. The second (including Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton) took place between Clinton's inauguration on January 20, 1993 and Nixon's death on April 22, 1994. The third (and longest, including Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush) took place between G.W. Bush's inauguration on January 20, 2001 and Reagan's death on June 5, 2004. The fourth (including Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump) began on January 20, 2017 when Donald Trump was inaugurated as the nation's 45th president, and continues to the present.
On six occasions, the only living president has been the incumbent president. George Washington was the first president, from April 30, 1789, until the inauguration of John Adams on March 4, 1797; after Washington's death on December 14, 1799, Adams became the only living president until the inauguration of Thomas Jefferson on March 4, 1801. After that time, there was always at least one living former president until the death of Andrew Johnson left Ulysses S. Grant the only living president, from July 31, 1875 to the inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes on March 4, 1877. Theodore Roosevelt was the only living president from the death of Grover Cleveland on June 24, 1908 to the inauguration of William Howard Taft on March 4, 1909. Herbert Hoover was the only living president from the death of Calvin Coolidge on January 5, 1933 to the inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 4, 1933. Since then, the only incumbent president who was the only living president was Richard Nixon, from the death of Lyndon B. Johnson on January 22, 1973 until Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974.
Six U.S. Presidents have lived into their 90s. They are (in order of birth):
Timeline of oldest living presidents
Of the 43 persons who have served as president, 24 have become the oldest such individual of their time. Herbert Hoover became the oldest living president (while still president himself) when Calvin Coolidge died in January 1933, and retained this distinction until his death 31 years later. Lyndon B. Johnson became the oldest living president upon the death of Harry S. Truman in December 1972, but outlived him by only 27 days.
On three occasions the oldest living president lost this distinction not by his death, but by election of a president who was older. Theodore Roosevelt lost this distinction when William Taft was inaugurated, then four years later Taft lost it when Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated. More recently, Richard Nixon ceased being the oldest living president when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated. Furthermore, although Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest ever to become both the oldest living president (at age 50) and a former president (at age 51), he was the only living president or former president by the end of his term. Consequently, Taft was the oldest living president twice: first during his presidency (having succeeded the younger Roosevelt), and a second time after Wilson (his successor as president but an older man) died. Gerald Ford was the oldest to acquire this distinction (at age 90).