Left Handed Presidents of the United States
There have been far more left-handed Presidents of the United States than would be expected from the proportion of the population that are left-handed, and in recent years the left-handers have almost completely taken over!
5 of the last 7 US Presidents have been left-handed - that must say something!
Going back into history it is hard to know whether past presidents were really left-handed or not as there was such a stong cultural pressure to make them change and write right-handed. Also, this phenomenon does not appear to be reproduced in other countries, so we are not sure quite why left-handers have been so successful in US Politics in recent years.
| Name | Number | Party | Term | Notes |
| James Garfield | 20 | Rep | 1831-1881 | Usually noted as the first left-handed president but there is no definitive proof. It was said he could simultaneously write Latin with his right hand and Greek with his left |
| Herbert Hoover | 31 | Rep | 1929-1933 | Normally described as left-handed, though this has been disputed |
| Harry Truman | 33 | Dem | 1945-1953 | Lefthander forced at school to change and write with his right |
| Gerald Ford | 38 | Rep | 1974-1977 | Also said to be ambidextrous. He described himself as "left-handed sitting down and right-handed standing up". |
| Ronald Reagan | 40 | Rep | 1981-1989 | Natural lefthander forced by teachers to write right-handed (see below) |
| George H W Bush | 41 | Rep | 1989-1993 | |
| William Clinton | 42 | Dem | 1993-2001 | |
| Barack Obama | 44 | Dem | 2009-2017 | Signing inaugural documents on 20 January 2009, he said "I'm a lefty, get used to it!" |
Left handed elections?
In recent years, not only has the President been left-handed but a lot of the unsuccessful candidates were also left-handed. In the 1992 election, all three major candidates - George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot - were left-handed. The 1996 election also involved three left-handed candidates: Clinton, Perot, and Bob Dole (who learned to use his left hand after his right hand was paralyzed by a World War II injury). Both major-party candidates in the 2008 presidential election - Barack Obama and John McCain - were left-handed.
Links to information on left-handed presidents
There are links to the best websites we could find in our links directory here:
Famous Left-Handers / United Stated Presidents
Ronald Reagan
There is some doubt about Hoover and Reagan as some images seem to show both of then writing right-handed, but often images get flipped unintentionally, or were they made to change hands for writing? We had a few comments from Club Members on this:
- The photo of President Reagan is not flipped. He always had his hair parted on that side so he is writing right-handed in this photo.
- Ronald Reagan was switched to right-handed methods in elementary school.
- That picture of Reagan at his desk has not been flipped. The American flag is always on the President's right when he's sitting at his desk.
- If you look closely you will see that the buttoning on the jackets of the men and women in the picture have not been reversed therefore Reagan must be writing with his right hand.
Additionally, several photographs exist showing Reagan throwing baseballs and footballs as a right-hander. However, Ronald Reagan did wear and display his weapon on his left hip and left hand, when he played a cowboy during his acting career.
Comments 12
Why don't laptop producers design a product that has a numbering system on the left hand side?
The only drawback about being left-handed is smudged hand-writing when hurrying or not paying close attention!
Left handed is believed to be caused by what is noted in the Dr Norman Geschwind theory. Doctor Geschwind's studies disclosed that in women's amniotic fluid, it was found that precisely 6 weeks after conception, that there is high testosterone presence in some mothers amniotic fluid. This high testosterone causes a suppression in the size of the left hemisphere of the brain and the right hemisphere outgrows or becomes more active at that point in the fetal stage. This is when the left handed trait is determined, as the larger right brain causes a propensity to control the opposite side. There is actually other evidence that explains ambidextrous. We are all actually someone ambidextrous whether we write with the left hand or the right.
Is a naturally born left hander. I was hired to teach astronomy in a local University some years ago. They put the new faculty through special class about the human brain. The teacher of this class was a nurse to a husband, who was a brain surgeon. so you can imagine the interesting amount of information that we learned from her. I'll write in some other comments here answering questions about who in history are known to be left handed from birth naturally, then many forced changed later, to write as right handed, due to religious and social stigmatising.
Also, nearly all of the noted figures in history that are at the top of their fields weather. In Science, music, the arts, acting, comedy, politics, all sports fields. The leaders at the top in all areas, are usually always left handed which are also rated as having higher IQ's.
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