Born March 18, 1837 in Calwell, New Jersey, Stephen Grover Cleveland’s accomplishments include:
• The only president to have served two nonconsecutive terms: March 4, 1885-March 3, 1889 and March 4 1893-March 3, 1897. He ran for president for the intervening term and received a plurality of the votes but failed to win in the electoral college.
• He was the only president to be married in the White House. He married a ward of his, 21-year-old Frances Folsom.
• Their daughter, Esther, was the first child of a president to be born in the White House.
Mount Rushless
Grover Cleveland is on our Mount Rushless:
Have we been ahead of the curve? That appears to be the case. In his book, Recarving Rushmore, Ivan Eland points out why Cleveland should be on Mount Rushmore. Cleveland was boring according to conventional thinking. This thinking is based on decisions to avoid war and pursue policies that led to economic success. Eland has a different approach for ranking presidents. Instead of ranking on flamboyance and the other usual stuff, he ranks them on how well they achieved peace, prosperity, and liberty.
By the way, you will see that we only have two presidents so far on our Mount Rushless, Harding and Cleveland. Any nominees for the other two? Please e-mail them to us: contactus@dullmensclub.com.
Also in honor of Grover Cleveland — New Jersey Turnpike Service Area — between northbound exits 11 and 12:
Past presidents have monuments or memorials in Washington DC, such as the Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial.
Grover Cleveland — a Jersey Turnpike rest stop.
