Warren Gamaliel Harding

29th President of the United States
(March 4, 1921 to August 2, 1923)

Nickname: None listed.

Born: November 2, 1865, near Corsica (now Blooming Grove), Ohio
Died: August 2, 1923, in San Francisco, California

Father: George Tyron Harding
Mother: Phoebe Elizabeth Dickerson Harding
Married: Florence Kling De Wolfe (1860-1924), on July 8, 1891
Children: Elizabeth Ann Christian (illegitimate child by Nan Britton) (1919- )

Religion: Baptist
Education: Graduated from Ohio Central College (1882)
Occupation: Editor-Publisher
Political Party: Republican
Other Government Positions:

• Member of Ohio State Senate, 1900-04

• Lieutenant-Governor of Ohio, 1904-06

• United States Senator, 1915-21

Presidential Salary: $75,000/year

Vice President:  Calvin Coolidge (1921-23)

Cabinet:

Secretary of State

Charles Evans Hughes (1921-23)

Secretary of the Treasury

Andrew W. Mellon (1921-23)

Secretary of War

John W. Weeks (1921-23)

Attorney General

Harry M. Daugherty (1921-23)

Postmaster General

William H. Hays (1921-22)

Hubert Work (1922-23)

Harry S. New (1923)

Secretary of the Navy

Edwin Denby (1921-23)

Secretary of the Interior

Albert B. Fall (1921-23)

Hubert Work (1923)

Secretary of Agriculture

Henry C. Wallace (1921-23)

Secretary of Commerce

 Herbert C. Hoover (1921-23)

Secretary of Labor

James J. Davis (1921-23)

Notable Events:

• 1921

  • Peace between Germany and Austria declared.

• 1922

  • Beginning of the Teapot Dome Scandal

  • Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act

Internet Biographies:

Warren G. Harding -- from The Presidents of the United States of America

Compiled by the White House.

Warren G. Harding -- from Table of Presidents and Vice Presidents of the United States - MSN Encarta

Grolier Online has created this resource from its collection of print articles in Encyclopedia Americana. Contains a full biography, written by Francis Russell, author of The Shadow of Blooming Grove: Warren G. Harding in His Times, along with suggestions for further reading.

Warren Harding -- from The American President

From the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, in addition to information on the Presidents themselves, they have first lady and cabinet member biographies, listings of presidential staff and advisers, and timelines detailing significant events in the lives of each administration.

Historical Documents:

Inaugural Address (1921)

Media Resources:

Audio

From a speech in which Harding repeatedly uses the term: "America First" (2:25)

RealAudio | MP3 (1,139K)

From the Vincent Voice Library at Michigan State University under the leadership of Dr. Maurice Crane.

"Readjustment" from the 1920 election campaign

From the Library of Congress Voices of the Presidential Election of 1920.

Other Internet Resources:

None

Points of Interest:

• He was the first newspaper publisher to be elected president.

• Both of Harding's parents were doctors.

• He suffered nervous breakdowns at the age of 24 and had to spend some time in a sanitarium.

• One of his sisters was a Washington, D.C. policewoman.

• Harding was the first president to ride to his inauguration in an automobile.

• He was the first president to own a radio and the first to speak over the radio airwaves.

• Harding was the first president to visit Canada and Alaska.

• While president, Harding played golf, poker twice a week, followed baseball and boxing, and sneaked off to burlesque shows. His advisors were known as the "Poker Cabinet" because they all played poker together.

• Harding wore size fourteen shoes. He had the largest feet of the presidents.

• Harding was the first president to be survived by his father.

• Other interesting notes about Harding from the New York Times.

Warren G. Harding

29th President of the United States
(March 4, 1921 to August 2, 1923)

Florence Harding

Videos