Known for movies
Short Info
Net Worth | $25 Million |
Died | June 24, 1908, Princeton, New Jersey, United States |
Spouse | Frances Folsom Cleveland Preston |
Fact | Was named guardian of his future wife, Frances, upon the death of her father, his law partner, Oscar Folsom. Frances later became the youngest First Lady in history (21). |
Grover Cleveland was born on March 18, 1837, in Caldwell, New Jersey, the fifth of nine children of Richard Falley Cleveland and Ann Neal. His father was a Congregationalist minister who was originally from Connecticut. His mother was from Baltimore and was the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Grover’s childhood was spent in rural upstate New York, where he attended local schools.
In 1853, Grover’s father died, and he was forced to leave school to support his family. He found work as a clerk in a law office, and later as a bookkeeper in a Buffalo, New York, grocery store. In 1855, he passed the bar exam and began practicing law.
Cleveland’s first foray into politics came in 1881, when he was elected mayor of Buffalo. He was reelected in 1882, and in 1884 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He served one term before returning to Buffalo to practice law.
In 1892, Cleveland was again elected to the U.S. Presidency, this time defeating incumbent Benjamin Harrison. He was the first Democrat to win the presidency since James Buchanan in 1856. He was reelected in 1896, defeating William McKinley.
As president, Cleveland was known for his conservative fiscal policies and his opposition to corruption. He also oversaw the expansion of the U.S. Navy and the construction of the Panama Canal. He left office in 1897, and retired to his home in Princeton, New Jersey.
In 1904, Cleveland was diagnosed with cancer of the mouth. He underwent surgery to remove part of his upper jaw, but the cancer returned and he died on June 24, 1908, at the age of 71.
Cleveland was a bachelor for most of his life, but in 1886 he married Frances Folsom, who was 27 years his junior. The couple had five children: Ruth, Esther, Marion, Richard, and Francis.
Cleveland was a large man, standing 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighing over 250 pounds. He was known for his thick mustache and bushy eyebrows.
General Info
Full Name | Grover Cleveland |
Net Worth | $25 Million |
Died | June 24, 1908, Princeton, New Jersey, United States |
Height | 1.8 m |
Weight | 250 pounds |
Profession | Lawyer, Politician |
Nationality | American |
Family
Spouse | Frances Folsom Cleveland Preston |
Children | Esther Cleveland, Ruth Cleveland, Richard F. Cleveland, Richard Folsom Cleveland, Francis Grover Cleveland |
Parents | Richard Falley Cleveland, Ann Neal Cleveland |
Siblings | Rose Cleveland, William Cleveland |
Social profile links
Quotes
# | Quote |
---|---|
1 | From our ancestors come our names; from our virtues, our honors. |
2 | Honor lies in honest toil. |
3 | [his last words] I have tried so hard to do right. |
4 | [to five-year-old Franklin D. Roosevelt] My little man, I am making a strange wish for you. It is that you may never be president of the United States. |
Facts
# | Fact |
---|---|
1 | He was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2013 for his historical services. |
2 | The personal desk he used while President of the United States ended up in the collection of law firm Semmes, Bowen, and Semmes in Baltimore, Maryland because his son, Richard F. Cleveland, an attorney and partner at the firm, died while an emeritus partner (still working part time) at the firm in 1974. |
3 | At his death, he left an estate valued at $250,000. |
4 | His portrait first graced the $20 Federal Reserve Note issued by the Federal Reserve System, Series 1914, and also Series 1918, at a time when the design and portrait on U.S. currency were frequently changed. These were the old large-sized "horse-blanket" notes, and when U.S. currency was downsized to its present dimensions, Cleveland was replaced by Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. However, he was switched to the $1,000 bill, both the Gold Certificate and Federal Reserve Note of Series 1928, and the Federal Reserve Note Series 1934. The $1,000 bill was officially discontinued by the Federal Reserve System in 1969. |
5 | One of only three men to win the popular vote for the Presidency three times. Like Andrew Jackson before him, Cleveland lost one of his three presidential bids by coming up short in the Electoral College (in 1888, when he was up for re-election; Jackson had lost his first bid for the presidency in 1824, losing the Electoral College vote to John Quincy Adams). The other man to win the popular vote for the presidency more than twice was Franklin D. Roosevelt, who also won the Electoral College vote in his four presidential bids (1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944). |
6 | As sheriff of Erie County (Buffalo), New York, he personally oversaw all of the hangings carried out. This led to his nickname "The Buffalo Hangman". |
7 | During his time as governor of New York, the press gave him the nickname "Ugly Honest" because he had a reputation for always telling the unvarnished truth. |
8 | During his second term in office it was discovered that he had developed a sarcoma on his upper jaw. Not wanting to make it public, he had surgery aboard a ship, tied to a chair which was tied to the mast. He was operated on for 41 minutes and had a major portion of his right upper jaw removed and replaced with a rubber prosthetic. He spent the next several months teaching himself to talk again and returned to his office having fully recovered. |
9 | Governor of New York (1883-1885). |
10 | When he was elected to his second term term of President, it was not clear whether he was officially the twenty-second or twenty-fourth President because the two terms he served were non-consecutive. A special Act of Congress resolved the issue by officially designating him as both the twenty-second and twenty-fourth President of the United States. |
11 | His failure to get a nomination from his party for a third term was due in large part to his inability to understand the impact of the industrial revolution as the country was moving into the 20th century. Cleveland was seen as such a laid-back man that those around him feared he wouldn't be able to keep up with the rapid changes that were propelling the United States forward. After his second term he left the office in disgrace, but in time his administration came to be seen as one of the most effective of the 19th century. |
12 | Sixth cousin once removed of President Ulysses S. Grant. |
13 | A staunch enemy of bloated government, Cleveland vetoed more bills than all the previous 21 presidents combined. |
14 | First and only president to be married in the White House. |
15 | Named after Stephen Grover, whose church Stephen's father, the Rev. Richard Falley Cleveland, had taken over. |
16 | The 5th of nine children. |
17 | Quit school at the age of 14 to help out his family. |
18 | Known as "Big Steve" during his tenure as Sheriff of Erie County, New York [1870 - 1873] |
19 | Admitted to the New York State bar [May 1859] |
20 | Mayor of Buffalo, New York [1882] |
21 | Was named guardian of his future wife, Frances, upon the death of her father, his law partner, Oscar Folsom. Frances later became the youngest First Lady in history (21). |
22 | Children: Ruth (3 October 1891 - 6 January 1904); Esther (9 September 1893 - 1980); Marion (7 July 1895 - 1977); Richard Folsom (28 October 1897 - 1974); Francis Grover (18 July 1903 - 1995) |
23 | First US President to be photographed by a motion picture camera. It was on the occasion of William McKinley's inauguration on 4th March 1897, and thus records Cleveland's final hours as President. |
24 | Pictured on a US 12¢ regular-issue postage stamp issued 20 March 1923. |
25 | Pictured on the 22¢ US postage stamp in the Presidential Series, issued 22 November 1938. |
26 | Remains to date the only President to have ever been elected President of the United States twice out of succession. He was President from 1885-1889 and then re-elected to office after Benjamin Harrison's single term and served from 1893 to 1897. |
27 | President of the United States, 1885-1889 and 1893-1897. |
28 | His son Francis (1903-1995) lived to age 92 which was 158 years after his father's birth. |
29 | His daughter, Ruth Cleveland (1891-1903) was the source of the name of the Baby Ruth candy bar, not the Babe Ruth of baseball fame. |
30 | Daughter Esther was the first (and, to date, the only) child to be born inside the White House (1893). |
Movies
Self
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
McKinley and Cleveland Going to the Capitol | 1897 | Short | Himself |
President Cleveland and President McKinley | 1897 | Short | Himself |
Return of McKinley from the Capitol | 1897 | Short | Himself |
Archive Footage
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Days of McKinley, Bryan, and Teddy Roosevelt | 1952 | Documentary short |
Source: IMDb, Wikipedia