List of left-handed presidents of the United States
At least seven of the 45 men who have held the office of United States president have been
left-handed.[1][2] Only one U.S. president prior to the 20th century was known to be left-handed.[3] Since
World War II there have been fourteen different U.S. presidents[1] and six of them have been left-handed.[4][5]
Various theories about why left-handers are overrepresented among U.S. presidents have been proposed. Biologist
Amar Klar studied handedness and determined that left-handed people, "...have a wider scope of thinking".[5] In a 2019 Journal of Neurosurgery article Nathan R. Selden argued that since left-handed people are right-hemisphere–dominant individuals, this might make presidents, "more effective leaders or at least more effective political candidates".[6] A
University of British Columbiapsychology professor,
Stanley Coren, authored the book The Left-Handed Syndrome, in which he claimed that "left-handers actually have a profile that works very well for a politician".[7] In a 2021 Business Insider article titled, "From Barack Obama to Julius Caesar, here are 12 world leaders who were left-handed" reporters Alexandra Ma and Talia Lakritz state, "According to some research, lefties may be more creative, be better at 'divergent thinking' — generating new ideas based on existing information — and face challenges better."[8][9]
Medical researcher Jonathan Belsey argued that, given a 13% prevalence of left-handedness, the long-term average is not
statistically high, but rather has a
p-value of 0.77, and that even the post-1881 prevalence has a 0.10 likelihood of occurring by chance.[2]
Left-handed presidents of the United States
James A. Garfield (March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881) was
ambidextrous;[10] he was the only known left-handed president prior to the 20th century.[3]
Harry S. Truman (April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1953) was left-handed as a child,[3] he wrote with his right hand and used his left for most other activities.[11][12]
Gerald Ford (August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977) was left-handed.
Ronald Reagan (January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989) was naturally left-handed but wrote with his right hand.[11][8]
George H. W. Bush (January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993) was left-handed. All three major candidates for president in 1992 were left-handed: Bill Clinton won.[5]
Bill Clinton (January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001) is left-handed.[13]
Other presidents who demonstrated left-handed ability
Thomas Jefferson (March 4, 1801 – March 4, 1809) was right-handed but after an injury to his right wrist, he wrote with his left hand.[16] He was said to have been ambidextrous, and he could write equally well with either hand.[17]
Woodrow Wilson (March 4, 1913 – March 4, 1921) was right-handed but after a stroke Wilson was able to use his left hand to write "perfectly legible well-formed characters". His ability was called "remarkable neurologically".[18]
^Wang, Sam; Aamodt, Sandra (July 6, 2008).
"A Vast Left-Handed Conspiracy". The Washington Post.
Archived from the original on March 24, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
^McCullough, David G. (1992).
Truman. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 32, 68.
ISBN978-0671869205.
Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.