The longest gap between the deaths of two Presidents is the 26 years 6 months and 20 days being the time between the death of George Washington on December 14th 1799 and the deaths of both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson on July 4th 1826. Of course, there were fewer Presidents around to die in those days.
The modern record is the time between the deaths of Lyndon Johnson on January 22nd 1973 and Richard Nixon April 22nd 1994, 21 years 3 months.
President Survived Longest by the First Lady
Sarah Childress Polk was First Lady from March 4th 1845 to Mar 3rd 1849. She married the future President James Knox Polk on New Year’s Day 1824. After leaving office her husband died just three months later on June 15th 1849 giving him the shortest retirement period of any President and leading to the longest widowhood of any First Lady.
Sarah Polk died August 14th 1891 at the age of 87years and 11 months, 42 years 1 month and 30 days after the death of her husband.
Age Differences Between Incumbent and Successor
When John F Kennedy took office on January 20th 1961 he was 26 years 7 months and 15 days younger than his predecessor Dwight D Eisenhower. This remains the largest discrepancy in age between successive Presidents.
The record for a President being older than his predecessor is held by Ronald Reagan who was 13 years 7 months and 25 days older than Jimmy Carter when he took office in 1981. This just beat the record held by James Buchanan who was 13 years and 7 months older than Franklin Pierce when he became President in 1857.
Acting President for a Day?
The story goes that on March 4th 1849 David Atchison who was President of the Senate became acting President because the outgoing President Polk had resigned a day early so he could go home to Tennessee and George Dallas the vice-president had also resigned. The incoming President, Zachary Taylor refused to be sworn in on a Sunday and, therefore, his vice-president to-be, Millard Fillmore could not take office either. So Atchison was du jour, President for a day.
It’s actually not quite true! Even if it were true that the office of President was vacant, Atchison would not have been the man to take office. As President of the Senate (pro tempore) his term of office would also have ended at midnight March 3rd 1849.
Taylor and Fillmore had been certified to take office and had not been sworn in. Atchison was definitely not sworn in nor was he President Pro Tempore.
So, in fact, the United States did not have a President that day. Atchison was, in fact, sworn in as President Pro Tempore just before Taylor and Fillmore on March 5th 1849.
The Atchison’s ‘presidency’ is one for the constitutional experts to discuss and argue over but Atchison did leave one lasting memorial: Atchison, Kansas was named for him and in turn the town gave its name to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad.
