7 Presidential Stories They Don't Teach in History Class
As we prepare for the election of the next president of the United States, here at Atlas Obscura, we’re reflecting on the shocking stories of presidents and their partners. From sea slugs to first lady escapades, these are odd, interesting, and out-of-pocket details you probably didn’t learn in any high school history class. Explore the secrets of Oval Office desks past and present, find out what went down when Lyndon B. Johnson got stuck in an elevator, and peek at President William McKinley’s top-secret autopsy report.
by Eric Grundhauser
Since 1909, when it was constructed, the Oval Office has been home to six different desks. The Roosevelt Desk was the first, serving various presidents until 1929; after surviving a fire it was replaced by the Hoover Desk. President H.W. Bush’s desk holds the record for shortest stay, lasting only one term. Lyndon B. Johnson brought his own desk with him to the Oval Office, which he had previously used during his years in the Senate and as vice president. Each desk has its own unique story and features, but the Resolute Desk stands out: It was built from a ship once stranded in the Arctic and has a secret “modesty panel” that hid Franklin D. Roosevelt’s legs.
by Vittoria Traverso
From one comes three: After scientists found the Placida cremoniana sea slug in locations around the world, they realized it was actually three different species. One of them, with a striking yellow body and black cerata (spike-like appendages) down its back, is now known as Placida barackobamai in honor of former President Barack Obama. The 44th president’s dedication to preserving marine habitats in the state of Hawaii, where he was born, is well known and included an expansion of the largest marine conservation area in the world, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The sprawling monument is home to another species named after the president in recognition of his commitment to our oceans and our planet’s health overall: Tosanoides obama, a striking neon orange and yellow coral reef fish.
by Mark Johanson
In the U.S., the legacy of our 19th president, Rutherford B. Hayes, is often overlooked. Some 5,000 miles away in South America, a small cattle-ranching hub called Villa Hayes celebrates the late president—from a statue in his likeness to the Hayes Primary School. The town serves as the headquarters of Paraguay’s Presidente Hayes Department, formed after the American president settled a bloody boundary dispute between Argentina and Paraguay, ultimately awarding the territory to Paraguay in 1878.
Hayes may be obscure in his homeland, but citizens of this South American nation absolutely revere the long-dead president, writes Mark Johanson. “Rutherford B. Hayes is our national hero,” says Maria Teresa Garozzo de Caravaca, director of the municipal museum in Villa Hayes.
by Sarah Durn
In August 1943, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt went missing. Ten days later, she reappeared in one of the world’s most dangerous war zones: on the tiny island of Guadalcanal, northeast of Australia in the Solomon Islands. Soldiers nicknamed it “The Island of Death,” but that didn’t dissuade Roosevelt. In all, she spent five weeks in the Pacific, traveling to 11 islands to give speeches and meet over 400,000 soldiers. “She alone had accomplished more good than any other person, or any group of civilians, who had passed through my area,” said Admiral William “Bull” Halsey, who had originally tried to dissuade her from the expedition.
While her initial disappearance was concerning, Roosevelt’s trip was in character for the unorthodox first lady. In this Q&A, journalist Shannon McKenna Schmidt tells Sarah Durn about Roosevelt’s solo journey, her fiercely independent nature, and how she nearly divorced her husband when he won the presidency.
by Elliot Carter
In February 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson arrived at the Pentagon to “promote” Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to the World Bank. It was actually a means of removing him from the public eye after his role in the devastating Vietnam War. The president emerged from a limo, said his hellos, and stepped into the building’s only passenger elevator with McNamara and 11 others. As the lift passed the second floor, it suddenly lurched to a stop. On board was White House Deputy Special Counsel Lawrence Levinson, who immediately grew suspicious that this was all part of an elaborate coup. While Levinson may have been paranoid, he wasn’t necessarily unjustified, as the preceding year had seen eight military coups and growing geopolitical tension around the world. After 12 minutes of increasing chaos and panic, the doors were finally forced open. Ultimately, the mishap wasn’t a coup, but an overloading of the lift’s capacity, which was swiftly changed from 15 to 12 after the incident.
by Ella Morton
In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to hand over his personal and presidential records to the federal government at the end of his time in office. To house the records, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum was built in Hyde Park, New York. In 1978, the Presidential Records Act declared that all future presidents must turn over all their records to the National Archives when leaving the White House. In addition to a library of documents, these buildings also hold a museum with important objects and exhibitions about the president’s most noteworthy achievements. The collections include wooden bench shaped like Hillary Clinton, the jelly bean portrait of Ronald Reagan, and the crates that held a pair of giant pandas sent from the Chinese to Richard Nixon, writes Ella Morton.
by April White
On September 6, 1901, President McKinley was shot twice, leaving him in grave condition. The tragic event took place in front of hundreds of witnesses, and news of the shooting quickly swept across the nation. But what actually led to the president’s death eight days later was, at the time, a mystery. Theories on his death—including the bullets being coated in poison—began to circulate. Physician Herman Matzinger and his team were tasked with examining the late president’s body to determine the true cause of death.
Matzinger submitted his conclusions to the government: There was no evidence of poison, or of any infection related to the shooting. Today, historians believe McKinley died from pancreatic necrosis, a condition which could not have been treated in the early 20th century, writes April White.
In February, Matzinger’s 17-page manuscript from the autopsy—containing notes from various experiments and examinations never made public—was sold to the Robert L. Brown History of Medicine Collection at the University at Buffalo. Matzinger had graduated from Buffalo Medical College, the University’s predecessor, in 1884.
