Most presidents gathered -- past, present and future

January 23, 2007 8:14 PM

When, and where, have the most living past, present and future presidents of the United States gathered at the same time in the same place?

At the memorial service in Washington for Ronald Reagan in 2004, there were former presidents George H. W. Bush, Clinton, Carter and Ford, plus current president George W. Bush -- five. (No counting Reagan, I said "living".)

At the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 (according to David McCullough in "The Great Bridge") former presidents John Adams, Madison, Monroe and Jefferson attended, along with then-president John Q. Adams and future president Andrew Jackson. That's six.

Have there ever been more at any single gathering?

posted by beagle to law & government (10 comments total)

Nixon funeral
posted by growabrain at 8:18 PM on January 23, 2007

Nixon funeral:
Clinton, Bush Sr., Ford, Reagan. Nixon was also in attendance; however, in a different capacity. And if Hillary wins the presidency, that will change the count.
posted by HotPatatta at 8:41 PM on January 23, 2007

The Nixon funeral and the Reagan memorial service are good candidates to tie the Erie Canal opening, depending upon who becomes the next President. If it's someone who was at either event or both events (like, obviously, as HotPatatta mentioned, Hillary Clinton), they would reach six. Of course, there's always the possibility, though I'd call it remote, that either could go to seven if someone else who was there wins in 2012.
posted by cerebus19 at 8:58 PM on January 23, 2007

OK, after some research, I've come up with another probable occasion with six: December 5, 1837, when Martin Van Buren gave his first State of the Union address. Here's the list:

J.Q. Adams, who had become a Rep. after his Presidency
Van Buren
Polk, who was then Speaker of the House
Fillmore, who was then a Rep.
Pierce, who was then a Senator
Buchanan, who was then a Senator

I don't have any strong evidence that all of them were there, but it seems likely. In case you're interested, here's the text of that SOTU speech.
posted by cerebus19 at 9:15 PM on January 23, 2007

Continental Congress? ? ?
posted by Heywood Mogroot at 9:25 PM on January 23, 2007

December 5, 1837, when Martin Van Buren gave his first State of the Union address. I don't have any strong evidence that all of them were there, but it seems likely.

Actually, Van Buren probably wasn't there. The State of the Union address was delivered in written form from 1801 (Jefferson viewed the practice as monarchical) until about 1913, when Wilson reinstated the practice.
posted by Johnny Assay at 9:47 PM on January 23, 2007

Johnny: Good point. Well, I still think it remarkable how many future presidents served in Congress at once, alongside a former president.

Heywood: Only Adams, Jefferson, and Madison were members of the Continental Congress, and Madison wasn't there at the same time as the other two.
posted by cerebus19 at 10:01 PM on January 23, 2007

So we have: Erie Canal 6, Nixon and Ford funerals 5 (HotP, Carter was also at the Nixon gig). There were also 5 at the opening of the Clinton Library in 2004 (Bush, Clinton, Carter, Ford, Bush), and the same 5 at the Bush 43 Library opening in 1997.

Regarding the "Van Buren Six", it does seem possible they all attended the same function sometime, like an inauguration or state dinner. They certainly must have all been in DC simultaneously.

In any event, the record seems to hold at six and has held for 182 years?
posted by beagle at 6:09 AM on January 24, 2007

By the way, so far the record for most presidents or future presidents alive at the same time is eighteen. This occurred four times in history, the most recent was from January 29 1843 to June 8, 1845 when Jackson, JQ Adams, Van Buren, Taylor, Tyler, Buchanan, Polk, Filmore, Pierce, Andrew Johnson, Lincoln, Grant, Hayes, Arthur, Garfield, B Harrison, Cleveland, and McKinley were all alive. Now, get them all in the same room at the same time and you've got something.
posted by DanSachs at 7:36 AM on January 24, 2007

Bohemian Grove.
posted by ScarletSpectrum at 11:34 AM on January 24, 2007 [1 favorite]