Fun Fact 2: Woodrow Wilson was one of four children born to Jessie and Joseph Wilson, his father was one of the founders of the Southern Presbyterian Church
Fun Fact 3: Despite not learning to read until he ten years of age, Woodrow Wilson was an excellent scholar and became the first president with a Ph.D. He graduated from the University of New Jersey (now called Princeton) and went on to teach there, he was voted as the most popular professor for six consecutive years. Then, in 1902 he became president of Princeton
Fun Fact 4: On June 24, 1885 Woodrow Wilson married his first wife Ellen Louise Axson, together they had 3 girls. Ellen died in 1914, and the following year, on December 18 1915, he married his second wife, Edith Bolling Galt. Edith was a descendant of legendary Native American, Pocahontas
Fun Fact 5: In 1910, before Woodrow Wilson became president he served as Governor of New Jersey
Fun Fact 6: Woodrow Wilson became the 28th President of America in 1913, he was 56 years of age and served for 8 years until 1921
Fun Fact 7: Woodrow Wilson was given the nickname the 'Schoolmaster of Politics', this was because he was an extremely clever man, a good communicator and had a previous career role as professor
Fun Fact 8: On May 9, 1914 Woodrow Wilson issued a declaration of a national Mother's Day and that it would occur on the second Sunday in May ever year
Fun Fact 9: Woodrow Wilson was the president who led the US into World War I. On May 7, 1915 a German submarine sunk a cruise ship with American citizens on board, it was called the Lusitania and it sunk in just 18 minutes killing 1,198 passengers. For this, together with other economic and political reasons on April 6, 1917 the US declared war on Germany
Fun Fact 10: Woodrow Wilson played a key role during the events of World War I and he also drafted the peace plan to end it. Cease fire was issued at 11 pm on the 11th day of the 11th month 1918 and the war was declared over. More than 117,000 Americans were killed during World War I and a further 205,000 injured
Fun Fact 11: Because of World War I, Woodrow Wilson became the first president to cross the Atlantic Ocean, and spent longer outside the US than any other president. The peace treaty alone took more than six months to negotiate with the League of Nations in Europe. His contributions towards ending the war were recognised and he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1920
Fun Fact 12: During his presidency Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke which left him partly paralyzed and almost blind, he relied heavily on his wife Edith who also became his political assistant, because of this she was given the nicknames the 'Presidentress' and the 'Iron Queen' there were also suggestions of a 'Petticoat Government'
Fun Fact 13: Woodrow Wilson died in Washington D.C. on February 3, 1924, he was 67 years of age. His final word was his wife's name 'Edith'
Fun Fact 14: Woodrow Wilson was buried at the Washington National Cathedral. The Cathedral was under construction at the time and thirty years after his death his body was moved to a tomb inside the church
Fun Fact 15: A famous quote from Woodrow Wilson is "Life does not consist in thinking, it consists in acting" |
