Top 10 Most Forgettable Presidents of the United States

William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison was an American statesman who served as the 9th President of the United States from March 4, 1841, until his death on April 4, 1841. He died of pneumonia, reportedly after being exposed to cold weather during his unusually long inaugural address. His time in office remains the... read more

Being at the top of lists about forgotten things ironically makes someone more remembered. Harrison was only president for 30 days and didn't do anything significant for his country. It's very sad that his term was so short.
Also, most of the presidents after James Monroe and before Teddy Roosevelt are largely forgotten.

Harrison died after just a month in office. Trivia time: This was because he went out to his inauguration on a cold, rainy day without an overcoat or hat, having been called old one too many times on the campaign trail.
He was also president way back in 1841, which is another reason he's forgotten.

Rutherford B. Hayes

Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States, serving from 1877 to 1881. He was also an American congressman and the governor of Ohio. Hayes was a lawyer and a staunch abolitionist who defended runaway slaves in court proceedings.

What's there to remember about him? At least we all know William Henry Harrison as a war hero general and the guy who died a month after taking office.

Hayes is probably the only U.S. president who I don't really know much about and immediately forget afterward.

I feel like it's bad, but he's the only president I actually didn't know existed.

Millard Fillmore

Millard Fillmore was an American politician who served as the 13th President of the United States from 1850 to 1853. He was the last Whig president and the last U.S. president not to be affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties.... read more

They won't even put a picture of this guy on here because he's so forgettable. Maybe even because he doesn't actually exist! I'm getting ahead of myself, though - every president after Jackson (except for Garfield and Gerald Ford) clearly doesn't exist anyway.

Hear that? That's the sound of everyone reading this list Googling these presidents.

Nobody knows who Millard Fillmore is.

James A. Garfield

James Abram Garfield was the 20th President of the United States. He served from March 4, 1881, until his assassination on September 19, 1881. Garfield was in office for only six months before being fatally shot by Charles J. Guiteau.

I want to vote for a lot of the presidents listed here, particularly the ones between Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln. However, the only thing I can really remember about Garfield is that his last name is the same as a comic strip character. Very sad.

He was assassinated halfway through his first year.

He was assassinated six months into his presidency, so he's kind of forgettable.

Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was the grandson of William Henry Harrison, the ninth President of the United States. During his presidency, he supported the McKinley Tariff and the Sherman Antitrust Act and oversaw the admission of six new... read more

This guy gave the longest inaugural speech, then got pneumonia, and that killed him.

I remember him as the grandson of the president who had the shortest term.

Warren G. Harding

Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 - August 2, 1923) was the 29th President of the United States. He served from March 4, 1921, until his death in office on August 2, 1923. Harding's presidency is often remembered for its economic initiatives and several scandals involving members of his administration... read more

He even said, Forget I am president. I will play golf with my friends and beat the heck out of them.

Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren was an American statesman who served as the eighth President of the United States from 1837 to 1841. He was a key organizer of the Democratic Party and previously served as Vice President under Andrew Jackson. Van Buren also held positions as Secretary of State and Governor of New York... read more

Martin Van Buren - I remember him by his name.

Chester A. Arthur

Chester Alan Arthur was an American attorney and politician. He served as the 21st President of the United States, assuming office after the assassination of James A. Garfield in 1881. During his presidency, Arthur supported civil service reform and signed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act into... read more

Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States, serving from March 1849 until his death in July 1850. Before his presidency, Taylor had a long military career as an officer in the United States Army. He rose to the rank of major general and gained national recognition for his leadership during... read more

I spent half an hour looking at articles about the top ten most forgettable presidents. He's so forgettable that he wasn't listed on any of them, except one time where his name was mentioned in a caption stating that he was the president Millard Fillmore replaced.

This guy died after a little over a year in office. He ate too many cherries and drank too much milk.

Franklin Pierce

Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democrat, he viewed the abolitionist movement as a threat to national unity. His presidency is often criticized for his support of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which exacerbated sectional tensions.

I think he's only this far down because everyone forgot about him here too.

?

Joe Biden

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017 under President Barack Obama and represented Delaware in the... read more

?

Jimmy Carter

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician and author who served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. In 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the Carter Center. He is the longest-lived president in U.S. history.

Calvin Coolidge

John Calvin Coolidge Jr. was an American politician who served as the 30th President of the United States from 1923 to 1929. He was a Republican lawyer from New England, born in Vermont, who advanced through Massachusetts state politics to become governor. Coolidge assumed the presidency upon the death... read more

Kind of underrated too. Good businessman.

I remember him as Harding's Vice President.

William McKinley

William McKinley was the 25th President of the United States. He served from March 4, 1897, until his assassination on September 14, 1901. McKinley led the nation during the Spanish-American War and was succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt after his death.

He did nothing that truly stuck out as important.

Gerald Ford

Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. was an American politician who served as the 38th President of the United States from August 9, 1974, to January 20, 1977. He assumed the presidency following Richard Nixon's resignation and is the only person to have served as both vice president and president without being elected... read more

I remember him as Vice President under Richard Nixon.

Donald Trump

Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946, in Queens, New York) is an American businessman, television personality, politician, and the 45th and 47th President of the United States.

Born and raised in Queens, New York City, Donald J. Trump received an economics degree from the Wharton School of the... read more

Not as well known as some presidents, but he's a good president in my opinion!

In the future, we could forget him.

John Tyler

John Tyler was the tenth President of the United States. He was also briefly the tenth Vice President, elected to that office on the 1840 Whig ticket with William Henry Harrison. Tyler became president after Harrison's death, making him the first vice president to succeed to the presidency due to the... read more

Sometimes, I forget every president except the famous ones. John Tyler is one of them.

I remember him as being Vice President during a one-month term.

James Buchanan

James Buchanan Jr. was the 15th President of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. He held office immediately before the outbreak of the American Civil War. Buchanan is often criticized for his inability to address the secession crisis effectively.

He shouldn't be forgotten. He started the Civil War, that dip.

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation through the American Civil War and succeeded in preserving the Union, abolishing slavery, bolstering... read more

Woodrow Wilson

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th President of the United States from 1913 to 1921. Born in Staunton, Virginia, he spent his early years in Augusta, Georgia, and Columbia, South Carolina. Before his presidency, he served as president of Princeton University... read more

William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft served as the 27th President of the United States and as the tenth Chief Justice of the United States, the only person to have held both offices. He served as President from 1909 to 1913 and was later appointed Chief Justice in 1921, serving until 1930. Taft is remembered for his... read more

James K. Polk

James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. Prior to his presidency, he served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1835 to 1839 and as Governor of Tennessee from 1839 to 1841. He is noted for overseeing the expansion of the United States through... read more

He annexed states from Mexico, though.

George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush (June 12, 1924 - November 30, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States from 1989 to 1993. Before becoming president, he served as the 43rd Vice President under Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989. He also held several other major roles... read more

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician and businessman born on July 6, 1946. He served as the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and previously as the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000. He is the eldest son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara... read more

Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He became president after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, having been vice president at the time. Johnson is known for his clashes with Congress during the Reconstruction era and was the first U.S. president... read more

Andrew Johnson was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. Johnson assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of Abraham Lincoln's assassination. A Democrat who ran with Lincoln on the National Union ticket, Johnson came to office as the Civil War concluded.
He favored the quick restoration of the seceded states to the Union. However, his plans did not provide protection to former slaves, leading to conflicts with the Republican-dominated Congress. This conflict culminated in his impeachment by the House of Representatives, though he was acquitted in the Senate by one vote. Johnson's main accomplishment as president is often considered to be the Alaska purchase.

Grover Cleveland

Stephen Grover Cleveland was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 22nd and 24th President of the United States.

On January 20th, 2025, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President, joining Cleveland as the only presidents to serve non-consecutive terms.

We had a president named Grover? But he was famous for being the 22nd and 24th president.

Herbert Hoover

Herbert Clark Hoover was an American engineer, businessman, and politician who served as the 31st President of the United States from 1929 to 1933. His presidency coincided with the onset of the Great Depression, during which he implemented economic measures that were widely criticized for being ineffective... read more

I can't forget the biggest villain of our country.

I remember him for his last name - Hoover Dam!