How tall presidents

Not surprisingly, the presidents with the highest predicted scores — Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt — also have very high greatness scores. The one exception — Lyndon Johnson — has a relatively high greatness score. Note that it is difficult to argue that presidential greatness should depend on height, weight body mass index or, more arguably, how long ago the leader was elected. These are the only factors along with the interaction between year elected and height that went into the predicted values.

We find it difficult to identify leader behaviors that, independently assessed, correlate this highly with leader effectiveness. And what about our current president? Most historians — and public opinion — do not give President Trump particularly high marks after 15 months in office. Poppycock, you say? Look, I am only the messenger here: The eminent philosopher David Hume cautioned us more than years ago to avoid the ought — is problem: He noted that our desire for how things should be colors our evaluation of how things really are.

I do not imagine many of us arguing in favor of height as a factor we should consider in electing or rating our political leaders. But the results clearly suggest it is a significant factor, like it or not. If you allow me to editorialize, my point here is this: If we find fault with our leaders, let us not forget that we elected them.

And my opinion is that the way in which we do that — for Republicans and for Democrats — leaves much to be desired. On that front, let me close with a question: As a citizenry, how good of a job do we do identifying the best and the brightest leaders to lead us — and what can we do to help us to choose leaders on the basis of the right leadership qualities and behaviors vs.

This is not a right or left issue. Disclaimer Here at Lead Read Today, we endeavor to take an objective rational, scientific approach to analyzing leaders and leadership. All opinion pieces will be reviewed for appropriateness, and the opinions shared are solely of the author and not representative of The Ohio State University or any of its affiliates. Former president Bill Clinton stood 6 feet 2 inches tall, making him one of the tallest in history.

Jackson had an interesting history of dueling. Wikimedia Commons. The odds of that happening are 1 in , Obama was the first black president and one of the tallest.

The Grammy winner is one of the tallest presidents, standing just over 6 feet in height. Madison was quite short, even for his day. James Madison is notorious for being the shortest president in history and stood just 5 feet 4 inches tall. Madison was sickly and had a weak voice , which made it hard for crowds to hear him during speeches. Benjamin Harrison made up for his height with his words. Benjamin Harrison was just seven years old when his grandfather , William Henry Harrison, was elected president.

The 23rd president of the United States stood just 5 feet 6 inches tall, but he made up for his shortness by talking a lot. Once he made speeches over the course of just 30 days. Standing just 5 feet 6 inches tall, Van Buren was the first president ever born in the United States of America.

John Quincy Adams was one of the shortest presidents. JQA only served one term as the 6th U. Adams also argued a case before the Supreme Court and won using the law degree he earned despite never going to law school.

John Adams was also on the shorter side. The tallest American president was Abraham Lincoln, at 6 feet 4 inches. James Madison, the country's fourth president, was the shortest at 5 feet 4 inches.

According to President Donald Trump's health report , he is 6 feet 3 inches tall, making him one of the taller presidents. In honor of Presidents Day, this animation shows all of the presidents in order of height, from tallest to shortest. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

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