Presidential Retirements by Length Quiz

James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 - June 15, 1849) was the 11th President of the US, serving a single full term from March 4, 1845 - March 4, 1849. Polk, a Democrat, won a narrow victory in the 1844 election over Whig candidate Henry Clay, carrying 15 states and 170 electoral votes to Clay's 11 states and 105 electoral votes. Polk ran for Presidency with the promise of only serving one term, and when he left office he was exhausted. Polk and his wife Sarah embarked upon a riverboat tour down the Mississippi River; Polk fell ill with an unknown ailment in April 1849 but quickly recovered, before falling ill again in June and dying of cholera just 103 days after leaving office.

George Washington (February 22, 1732 [O.S. February 11, 1731] - December 14, 1799) was the first President of the US from April 30, 1789 to March 4, 1797. A Revolutionary War hero, Washington was appointed as commander of the Continental Army when war broke out in 1775, and eventually led them to victory in the war for independence against Great Britain. Following the signing of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787 that helped establish the framework of the US Government, Washington was unanimously elected President by the Electoral College in both 1788 and 1792. Following his Presidency, Washington retired to his Virginia estate, Mount Vernon, and died 2 years and 285 days later.

John Calvin Coolidge (July 4, 1872 - January 5, 1933) was the 30th President of the US, serving from August 2, 1923 to March 4, 1929. Coolidge, a Republican, was the Vice-President of Warren G. Harding, who died in office on August 2, 1923; following the Presidential line of succession, Coolidge automatically ascended to the Presidency. In the 1924 election Coolidge and Vice-President candidate Charles G. Dawes won a landslide victory over the Democratic ticket of John W. Davis and Charles W. Bryan. Despite being eligible to do so (with the 22nd Amendment limiting a President's term of office not existing until 1947 and not ratified until 1951), Coolidge decided not to seek a second full term as President in the 1928 election; he explained his decision to reporters by saying "If I take another term, I will be in the White House till 1933. Ten years in Washington is longer than any other man has had it-too long!"

Coolidge retired to Northampton, Massachusetts, where he died on January 5, 1933, 3 years and 307 days after leaving office.

James Monroe (April 28, 1758 - July 4, 1831) was a Founding Father and fifth President of the US from March 4, 1817 to March 4, 1825. Monroe served as a Major in the Continental Army and as a Colonel in the Virginia militia during the Revolutionary War.

A Democratic-Republican, Monroe and Daniel D. Tompkins won an easy victory over the Federalist candidate Rufus King in the 1816 election, and the pair ran unopposed in the 1820 election after the Federalists were unable to select a Presidential candidate.

After his Presidency ended, Monroe retired to Oak Hill, his mansion in Aldie, Virginia, before moving to New York City following the death of his wife Elizabeth in 1830. Monroe died in New York on July 4, 1831, 6 years and 122 days after leaving office.

Dwight David Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 - March 28, 1969) was the 34th President of the US, serving from January 20, 1953 to January 20, 1961. Eisenhower served in the US military during both World Wars (the only US President to do so, though he didn't see any combat in WWI). Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force from 1943 until its disbanding in July 1945, during which he oversaw the planning and execution of Operation Overlord - the Allied invasion of German-occupied Europe in 1944.

In 1952, Eisenhower ran for the Presidency with Richard Nixon as the Republican ticket; the pair won the election, and re-election in 1956, in landslides over Democrat candidate Adlai Stevenson II and his running mate John Sparkman (1952) and Estes Kefauver (1956). Post-presidency, Eisenhower retired to his working farm next to the Gettysburg battlefield in Pennsylvania, and died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, 8 years and 67 days after leaving office.

Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 - January 6, 1919) was the 26th President of the US, serving from September 14, 1901 to March 4, 1909. Roosevelt, a Republican, was the Vice President of William McKinley, and when McKinley died from gangrene on September 14, 1901 after being shot on September 5, Roosevelt became President. Roosevelt won a term in his own right at the 1904 election; he and running mate Charles W. Fairbanks easily defeated the Democratic ticket of Alton B. Parker and Henry G. Davis. Following the end of his term in March 1909, Roosevelt stepped back from an active role in politics, before founding the Progressive "Bull Moose" Party and unsuccessfully contesting the 1912 election. Roosevelt died in Oyster Bay, New York on January 6, 1919, 9 years and 308 days after he left office.

George Herbert Walker Bush (June 12, 1924 - November 30, 2018) was the 41st President of the US, serving a single full term from January 20, 1989 to January 20, 1993. After briefly serving as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Bush served as Vice President during the presidency of Ronald Reagan (January 20, 1981 to January 20, 1989), and ran as the Republican candidate in the 1988 election; Bush and running mate Dan Quayle defeated the Democratic ticket of Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen in a landslide victory. Bush and Quayle contested the 1992 election, but were heavily defeated by the Democratic ticket of Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Bush retired from politics following the defeat, and was actively involved in a number of humanitarian initiatives until shortly before his death on November 30, 2018, 25 years and 314 days after leaving office.

Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913 - December 26, 2006) was the 38th President of the US, serving from August 9, 1974 to January 20, 1977. Ford was serving as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 5th district when he was appointed Vice President on December 6, 1973 by President Richard Nixon following the resignation of Spiro Agnew on October 10, 1973. Nixon then resigned the presidency on August 9, 1974 as a result of the Watergate scandal; Ford became President as per the presidential line of succession. Ford contested the 1976 election with running mate Bob Dole, narrowly losing to the Democratic ticket of Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale. Following his defeat, Ford attempted to secure the Republican nomination for the 1980 election, but lost to Ronald Reagan. Ford stepped back from politics and served on a number of corporate boards, before dying on December 26, 2006, at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, 29 years and 340 days after his presidency ended.

Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 - October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving a single term from March 4, 1929 to March 4, 1933. Hoover, a Republican, and running mate Charles Curtis won the 1928 election in a landslide over the Democratic ticket of Al Smith and Joseph T. Robinson. Hoover's presidency was marked by his failure to handle the rapidly escalating financial crisis that led to the Great Depression; his inadequate handling of the Wall Street crash and its massive repercussions, as well as his general unpopularity, led to his huge defeat at the hands of Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner in the 1932 election.

Despite his defeat, Hoover remained active in politics, and harboured ultimately unfulfilled ambitions of another Presidential run in both 1936 and 1940. In 1946, following WWII, President Harry S. Truman selected Hoover to tour war-ravaged Occupied Germany to ascertain the food needs of the conquered nation; his reports about the Allied occupation were highly critical, and led to a rapid improvement of the situation. Hoover died on October 20, 1964 in New York City, 31 years and 230 days after he left office.

James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924 - December 29, 2024) was the 39th president of the US, serving a single term from January 20, 1977 to January 20, 1981. Carter, a Democrat, contested the 1976 election against incumbent Gerald Ford; Carter and running mate Walter Mondale won a narrow victory against Ford and Vice President Bob Dole. Carter's term became dominated by the Iran hostage crisis when, on November 4, 1979, the US Embassy in Tehran was stormed by revolutionaries; the last of the 66 hostages weren't released until January 20, 1981. The crisis, as well as the failed hostage rescue operation (Operation Eagle Claw) led to Carter's landslide defeat to the Republican ticket of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush at the 1980 election.

Following his Presidency, Carter became a diplomat and humanitarian; his association with the non-profit housing organization Habitat for Humanity became an important part of his retirement. On October 1, 2024 Carter became the first former US President to reach the age of 100; Carter died three months later on December 29, 43 years and 343 days after leaving office.