From iconic architecture to surprising secrets, the White House holds more than just history—it’s a symbol of American resilience, power, and personality. Beyond the politics, this presidential residence is brimming with fascinating stories that reveal quirky traditions, famous guests, and hidden details. Here are 50 captivating facts that will give you a fresh look inside America’s most famous home.
1 White House Chief Calligrapher
The White House employs a Chief Calligrapher, who writes invitations by hand for dinners, greetings, and proclamations. This position earns an annual salary of $109,200 (as of 2020).
2. In 1891, the White House had electricity installed for the first time. President Benjamin Harrison and his wife, fearing electrocution, refused to touch the light switches. As a result, the White House staff had to follow them around, turning the lights on and off as needed.
3. In 1814, British soldiers invading Washington, DC, arrived at the White House and found food, wine, and lavish dinner preparations that Dolley Madison had organized before fleeing. The soldiers enjoyed the meal and drank the wine before burning down the house.
4. In 1978, President Carter supervised the installation of the first computers in the White House, including a Hewlett-Packard HP 3000, a water-cooled IBM laser printer, and a Xerox Alto desktop computer for the Oval Office. However, President Reagan removed the Xerox Alto in 1981.
5. Contaminated water may have caused the deaths of as many as three U.S. presidents and even Abraham Lincoln’s son. Before 1850, the White House had no sewage system, allowing a field of human waste, known as “night soil,” to flow into the water supply.
6 Kennedy’s Nobel Laureates Dinner
In 1962, President Kennedy hosted a dinner for 49 Nobel Laureates at the White House. During the event, he remarked, “I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”
7. President Nixon ordered the Secret Service agents at the White House to wear elaborate uniforms similar to those of palace guards in other countries. Introduced in 1970, the uniforms were widely disliked, including by the Secret Service agents themselves, and were eventually sold to an Iowa marching band.
8. The White House has military social aides whose duties include escorting dignitaries, dancing with guests, and engaging in small talk with attendees who might need company.
9. The White House underwent a complete gutting and steel beam reinforcement in 1949-50. According to the Public Buildings Administration commissioner, the building was only standing “by force of habit.”
10. The White House under Franklin D. Roosevelt served notoriously poor-quality meals, as First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt aimed to set an example during the Great Depression by serving economical meals made from scraps.
11 Cleveland’s Unique White House Wedding
Grover Cleveland holds the distinction of being the only president to marry while serving in the White House. In 1886, at 49, he married a 21-year-old woman for whom he had once been the legal guardian. John Philip Sousa provided the wedding music.
12. President Andrew Jackson once held an open house party at the White House, where he served a 1,400-pound block of Cheddar cheese. It was eaten up in just 2 hours, but its smell reportedly lingered in the White House for weeks.
13. A White House fountain commemorates Major Archibald Butt and artist Francis Millet, close friends and housemates in Washington, D.C., who tragically died together on the Titanic.
14. During the Truman-era reconstruction of the White House, the administration authorized a souvenir program allowing the public to purchase old pieces of the building, such as timbers, bricks, stones, and paneling. The demand exceeded expectations, with revenue surpassing expenses by $10,000.
15. The first Soviet citizen to visit the White House was Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a female World War II sniper with 309 confirmed kills, one of which was a rival sniper she dueled with over three days.
16 White House Background Check Question
The White House background check for potential employees includes a question asking if the applicant has ever been “suspected” of breaking the law.
17. In 1974, a U.S. soldier stole a helicopter and flew it to the White House in Washington, D.C. The Executive Protective Service shot and injured him as he hovered above the south grounds, forcing him to land. He received only a one-year prison sentence and $2,400 in fines.
18. Under Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter, the White House built a vinyl record collection of over 2,000 donated albums. This time capsule of 1970s music trends includes artists like Pat Boone, Barry Manilow, John Denver, the Beatles, Isaac Hayes, The Clash, and Elvis Costello.
19. American musician Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane received an invitation to a White House tea party in 1969 and planned to spike President Nixon’s tea with 600 micrograms of LSD. White House security thwarted her plan.
20. Many famous people have claimed to see Abraham Lincoln’s ghost in the White House, including Winston Churchill, President Lyndon B. Johnson, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, First Lady Grace Coolidge, and Theodore Roosevelt.
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
21 First Televised White House Tour
In 1952, President Truman hosted the first televised tour of the White House. He shared its history, paused by paintings and furniture to tell stories, and even played the Steinway piano in the East Room.
22. President Lyndon B. Johnson was known for wandering through the White House to turn off lights in seemingly empty rooms, often surprising people still working there. This habit earned him the nickname “Light Bulb Johnson.”
23. Former First Lady Helen Herron Taft required that all White House waiters have a full head of hair, banning any bald-headed butlers from the dining room.
24. The White House held its first 4th of July celebration in 1801, inviting Cherokee chiefs and including a cockfighting event as part of the festivities.
25. In 2013, under the Obama administration, the White House raised the number of required signatures for a petition to receive a response from 25,000 to 100,000 after a petition to build an American Death Star garnered enough signatures.
RE: Fact #35 (Taft’s Oversized Bathtub Myth) – Being 6’3″, I totally get the struggle of baths being too small. It’s either your legs in or your upper body, never both. So frustrating!