Which presidents attended harvard

Date November 6, When sworn in on Jan. President-elect Obama is a graduate of Harvard Law School. He joins current President George W. Bush M. Hayes, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Journalist Robert Windrem notes that Harvard has educated more U. Yale University has produced five U. Bush counting for both Harvard and Yale.

John Adams , A. The entrance exam to Harvard in was rigorous and proved a frightening prospect to many an applicant. The young John Adams was no exception. After mounting his horse and starting the ride from nearby Braintree to Cambridge, Adams experienced sensations familiar to almost all of us. I aroused my self, and collected Resolution enough to proceed. I read forever. John Quincy Adams , A.

At the festive Commencement Day exercises, the famously dour Adams graduated second in a class of 51, but not until he had discharged his first duty of the day, playing the flute in the College band. Rutherford B. Hayes , LL. Not long after graduating from Kenyon College, the young Rutherford B. Hayes did enjoy going to temperance meetings and the theater, although upon his graduation he decided to set such frivolities aside.

Since George Washington, there have been 45 American presidents, all with varying levels of education. While there are a select few who never graduated from college, most hold degrees from various institutions, including Princeton and Yale.

But only eight of the 45 men have received degrees from Harvard. This article briefly explores each of these eight individuals and their time attending one of the most prestigious colleges before being elected as president of the United States. Born and raised in Massachusetts, John Adams enrolled at Harvard in at the age of sixteen. Reading the works of ancient writers like Plato and Cicero, he developed a passion for learning and became quite the intellect.

He graduated four years later with a Bachelor of Arts degree. His father wanted him to become a minister, but Adams grew determined to pursue more noble work, desperate for a reputation like the men of Harvard who came before him.

He settled on law and returned to Harvard where he earned a Master of Arts degree in He also served as the first vice president before that. Growing up in Massachusetts, John Quincy Adams was mostly taught by private tutors. In , at the age of ten, he accompanied his father—John Adams—to Europe where he studied at a private school in Paris and the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.

He even spent time in Saint Petersburg working for an American diplomat. He continued making trips around Europe until when he returned to the United States to pursue higher education. He went on to study law and passed the Massachusetts bar exam in He opened his own legal practice in Boston before throwing himself into politics. After attending a college preparatory school in Connecticut, Rutherford B.

Hayes returned to his home state of Ohio where he enrolled at Kenyon College in There, he discovered an interest in Whig politics before graduating as class valedictorian. In , Hayes enrolled at Harvard Law School. In between his studies, he attended lectures by esteemed former graduates like John Quincy Adams. The Miller Center reports that thanks to the education he received abroad — he accompanied his father to Europe when the elder Adams became a diplomat and special envoy for the United States — John Quincy Adams took just two years to complete his undergraduate education at Harvard.

Town and Country notes that Adams graduated as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, an honor society for the liberal arts and sciences. Next : This president never actually graduated from the Ivy League school he attended. He abandoned his study of medicine. Town and Country reports that William Henry Harrison switched majors as an undergraduate, demonstrating that even future presidents can change course during their studies.

Harrison began his undergraduate career studying medicine at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. He abandoned his study of medicine, and he never received a degree. However, the university considers him a non-graduate alumnus of the Medical Class of Next : This president switched loyalties from the political party he supported in college.

He went to law school. But now you know that he numbers among the presidents who attended Ivy League schools! He then aligned himself with the Republican Party as a Congressman, as the governor of Ohio, and as president. Next : This president dropped out of law school to begin his career. He joined several clubs in college. As one might expect of Theodore Roosevelt, he did plenty to keep busy while in college. He famously participated in boxing, joined several clubs, and served as the editor of the Harvard Advocate.

After his undergraduate education at Harvard, Roosevelt enrolled as a law student at Columbia. However, he withdrew before completing his education.

The Miller Center notes that he wanted to begin his career in public service instead of completing his education. But in , he was awarded a posthumous honorary J. He participated in many extracurricular activities.

Taft participated in many extracurricular activities as an undergraduate, according to Town and Country. He became a member of the Linonian Society, a literary and debate club. Taft also became a member of the Skull and Bones, a secret society that his father co-founded. Thus, Taft numbers among the many presidents who joined secret societies , some more exclusive than others. A total of three members of the society — at least so far — have served as president of the United States.

Next : This president took a long time learning to read. But he still got an Ivy League education. He was assistant manager of the baseball team. The Miller Center reports that Woodrow Wilson struggled with weak eyesight and possible dyslexia, both of which delayed his learning to read as a child.