Birth states of presidents

Bill Sullivan
October 31, 2008

He was Governor of Texas, made his money in Texas, ran a baseball team in Texas, and is retiring to Texas. So, it stands to reason that George W. Bush is a Texan, right?

Uh…not exactly. While he may have spent plenty of time in the Lone Star State, Bush actually was born in New Haven, Conn. — the only president that state has produced to date.

Which states can claim to have provided the birthplace for the most U.S. chief executives?

Here’s the list:

Virginia (8): George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, Woodrow Wilson

Ohio (7): Ulysses Grant, Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, Warren Harding

Massachusetts (4): John Adams, John Quincy Adams, John Kennedy, George H.W. Bush

New York (4): Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt

North Carolina (2): James Polk, Andrew Johnson

Texas (2): Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson

Vermont (2): Chester Arthur, Calvin Coolidge

Source: The Book of Political Lists

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