# Foreign born US political figures? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 9, 2005, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728 "2005-03-09T22:50:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728/1 "2005-03-09T22:50:48Z")
Over at Wikipedia, I’m working on a list of American political figures who were born in other countries. Can people help me with suggestions? Of course, they have to be well known enough to already have a Wikipedia article. So far, I’ve got the following: Madeleine Albright, Abraham Beame, Philip Becker, Judah P. Benjamin, Victor L. Berger, W. Michael Blumenthal, Rudy Boschwitz, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Anthony Celebrezze, Anton Cermak, Elaine Chao, John M. Deutch, Viet D. Dinh, John Quoc Duong, Felix Frankfurter, Bailey Gatzert, Carlos Gutierrez, Alexander Hamilton, S. I. Hayakawa, Mazie Hirono, Arianna Huffington, Vincent R. Impellitteri, Jay Kim, Henry Kissinger, Kok Ksor, Madeleine M. Kunin, Tom Lantos, Mel Martinez, Christopher Memminger, John Negroponte, Knute Nelson, Nguyen Lan, Nguyen Phuc Buu Chanh, Nguyen Si Binh, Nguyen Xuan Ngai, Andy Quach, Carl Schurz, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Oscar Straus, Adolph Sutro, Tran Thai Van, David Wu, and David Levy Yulee. Naturally, this being Wikipedia, people are invited to just go there directly and submit any information themselves. ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728/2 "2005-03-09T23:02:34Z")
Jennifer Granholm, the Governor of Michigan, was born in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728/3 "2005-03-09T23:30:20Z")
Depending on how literally you want the phrase “born in other countries” taken, you might include [John McCain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain), who was born in the [Panama Canal Zone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_Zone) in 1936. Although the PCZ was _administered_ by the US at the time, it was not a _part_ of the US. Since both of McCain’s parents were US citizens, he is himself a **natural born** citizen and thus eligible to run for US President, and has of course done so. ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728/4 "2005-03-09T23:58:24Z")
How could I forget the [Founding Fathers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founding_Fathers_of_the_United_States)? Of the delegates who attended the US Constitutional Convention, we have: [ul] [li][Pierce Bulter](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierce_Butler), SC, born in Ireland.[/li][li][Thomas Fitzsimons](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Fitzsimons), PA, born in Ireland.[/li][li][James McHenry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_McHenry) (of Fort McHenry fame), MD, born in Ireland.[/li][li][William Paterson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Paterson_%28jurist%29), NJ, born in Ireland.[/li][li][William Davie](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_R._Davie), NC, born in England.[/li][li][Robert Morris](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Morris_%28merchant%29), PA, born in England.[/li][li][James Wilson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Wilson), PA, born in Scotland.[/li][li][Alexander Hamilton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Hamilton), NY, born in the West Indies (you already have him in the OP, but I’ve added him here to make this list complete).[/li][/ul] Of course, you might want to make it clear in your article that _none_ of the early political figures in US History were born in the United States of America! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728/5 "2005-03-10T00:15:22Z")
Thanks for the names. I’ve amended the appropriate articles. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728/6 "2005-03-10T00:26:18Z")
> [@Antonius Block](#): > > Since both of McCain’s parents were US citizens, he is himself a **natural born** citizen and thus eligible to run for US President, and has of course done so. Article II, Section 1, Clause 5: No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President. The Constitution has this requirement for being _eligible_ to the Office of the President; there is nothing unconstitutional about _anyone_ running for US President, and one could imagine the conundrum of one of the many famous foreign born politicians running for President and subsequently gaining the popular and electoral vote. Beauraucrat: “I’m sorry, she’s inelligble to the Office of President” Voter: “But I voted for her, and so did the majority of Americans!” We the People, indeed! ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728/7 "2005-03-10T00:32:52Z")
> [@Kozmik](#): > > The Constitution has this requirement for being _eligible_ to the Office of the President; there is nothing unconstitutional about _anyone_ running for US President, and one could imagine the conundrum of one of the many famous foreign born politicians running for President and subsequently gaining the popular and electoral vote. Beauraucrat: “I’m sorry, she’s inelligble to the Office of President” Voter: “But I voted for her, and so did the majority of Americans!” We the People, indeed! It’s unlikely the Electors would vote for someone they knew was ineligible in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728/8 "2005-03-10T00:50:44Z")
> [@Kozmik](#): > > Article II, Section 1, Clause 5: No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President. > > The Constitution has this requirement for being _eligible_ to the Office of the President; there is nothing unconstitutional about _anyone_ running for US President That’s rather odd surely? Here the electoral laws prevent the acceptance of a nomination if the person isn’t eligible to actually take his seat in Parliament. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728/9 "2005-03-10T00:55:05Z")
Technically, these U. S. Presidents were born in foreign countries: George Washington, 1732 John Adams, 1735 Thomas Jefferson, 1743 James Madison, 1751 James Monroe, 1756 (?) John Quincy Adams, 1767 Andrew Jackson, 1767 Martin Van Buren, 1783 William Henry Harrison, 1773 Zachary Taylor, 1784 According to the _World Book Encyclopedia,_ John Tyler was the first President born after the adoption of the U. S. Constitution in June 1788. According to historian Joseph Nathan Kane, Jackson was the first President whose birthplace was in dispute, not that it would have mattered (“or a citizen of the United States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution…”) One of the members of a group of Irish agitators convicted of high treason in the mid-nineteenth century was Thomas Meagher. He, lkike all of the others, was originally sentenced to the gallows; but a public outcry persuaded Queen Victoria to commute the sentence to banishment to Australia. Meagher eventuially became governor of Montana. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728/10 "2005-03-10T01:02:12Z")
> [@Kozmik](#): > > The Constitution has this requirement for being _eligible_ to the Office of the President; there is nothing unconstitutional about _anyone_ running for US President, and one could imagine the conundrum of one of the many famous foreign born politicians running for President and subsequently gaining the popular and electoral vote. Beauraucrat: “I’m sorry, she’s inelligble to the Office of President” Voter: “But I voted for her, and so did the majority of Americans!” We the People, indeed! Well, yes, I suppose I should **really** have covered _every single possibility_ in my one brief sentence. :dubious: In fact, the Electoral College could vote for whomsoever they wanted to, whether or not that person has even expressed a desire to run. I hope I’m forgiven for not specifically including the situation in which the College votes for a candidate who is Constitutionally ineligible to be sworn in to the office. (On preview, I see that **friedo** has already covered me on this.) Back on a more serious note, is [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Foreign-born_US_political_figures) your Wikipedia entry, **Little Nemo**? If so, there’s a couple of issues that you might want to clarify: [ul] [li]The list is titled “This is a list of people who were not born in the United States but became prominent in American politics.” As I mentioned in my earlier post, _none_ of the early political figures were born in the United States (not even George Washington himself!). You might want to add “or the 13 Colonies that preceded it”.[/li][li]The page is listed as a subcategory of “[Naturalized citizens of the United States](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Naturalized_citizens_of_the_United_States)”, and the Founding Fathers that I mentioned in post #4 were not, of course, “Naturalized” citizens since they immigrated to the Colonies before the US was founded.[/li][/ul] I know this is nitpicky, but I thought that you might want to be aware of it and make clarifications if you agree. I _could_ edit it myself, but it seems more respectful to offer it to you here as a suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728/11 "2005-03-10T02:47:17Z")
[Adolph Joachim Sabath](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000001), the long-time House Rules Committee chair. [Robert Crosser](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000932), House Commerce Committee chair [Theodore Weiss](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=W000258), longtime New York City political figure [Robert F. Wagner](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=W000021), longtime Senator from New York ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728/12 "2005-03-10T05:17:05Z")
How about Swiss-born Albert Gallatin, one of our early TReasury Secretaries. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728/13 "2005-03-10T05:31:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Back on a more serious note, is this your Wikipedia entry, Little Nemo? Yes, that’s it. I created the category after writing the article on Christopher Memminger. I added all the names I could think of plus those I was able to find myself through research. I’ve made the changes that were suggested and added Wagner and Gallatin (whom I’m embarassed I forgot). Crosser, Sabath, and Weiss don’t have articles (yet) to be linked to. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728/14 "2005-03-10T05:57:15Z")
**Teresa Heinz Kerry** Well, she hasn’t held office, but she’s been married to two senators and in the last election she was campaigning pretty hard, so perhaps she can be considered “prominent in American politics”. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728/15 "2005-03-10T07:36:55Z")
> [@Kozmik](#): > > The Constitution has this requirement for being _eligible_ to the Office of the President; there is nothing unconstitutional about _anyone_ running for US President, and one could imagine the conundrum of one of the many famous foreign born politicians running for President and subsequently gaining the popular and electoral vote. Beauraucrat: “I’m sorry, she’s inelligble to the Office of President” Voter: “But I voted for her, and so did the majority of Americans!” We the People, indeed! The process of making it to the general election in November is predicated upon making it through the state primaries and/or via petition. The state election laws often have a citizenship requirement in their various state laws and/or are required by the US Constitution to being subordinate to the Constitutional and all federal laws. It seems to me that a non-citizen would never make it on the state ballot for the primaries not make the petition requirements to be included in the general election. The voters would not get the chance to vote for a non-citizen. ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728/16 "2005-03-10T08:04:39Z")
I nominate [Stephen Girard](http://www.ushistory.org/girard/), originally of Bordeaux, France. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728/17 "2005-03-10T12:39:18Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > Yes, that’s it. I created the category after writing the article on Christopher Memminger. I added all the names I could think of plus those I was able to find myself through research. > > I’ve made the changes that were suggested and added Wagner and Gallatin (whom I’m embarassed I forgot). Crosser, Sabath, and Weiss don’t have articles (yet) to be linked to. You can still add the links even if they don’t have articles yet. They’ll show up red, which will convince someone to write something for it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728/18 "2005-03-10T13:21:41Z")
“Natural born citizen” is not defined, but I don’t believe it’s ever been challenged in the case of a candidate who was born of parents who were both American citizens, no matter where he was born. The baby is a US citizen at birth. People did bring up the issue over the presidential candidacies of George Romney (governor of Michigan, born in Mexico to American parents) and Barry Goldwater (born in Arizona before it achieved statehood), but neither candidate was disqualified from running. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728/19 "2005-03-10T14:10:49Z")
Jerry Springer - former Mayor of Cincinnati, though [born in London](http://www.springershow.com/jerry/bio/index.asp). ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728/20 "2005-03-10T20:59:28Z")
Some other noted foreign-born Americans: Peter Jennings, Art Linkletter, Alex Trebek, Ferguson Jenkins (Canada) Anthony Quinn, Fernando Valenzuela, Rita Hayworth, Vikki Carr (Mexico) Bob Hope, Elizabeth Taylor, Henny Youngman, Stan Laurel, Charlie Chaplin (England) Bobby Thompson\*, Alan Young (Scotland) Henry Kissinger, Wernher von Braun, Albert Einstein (Germany) Knute Rockne, Sonja Heine (Norway) Enrico Fermi, Guglielmo Marconi, Sophia Loren (Italy) Sam Goldwyn, Moe Drabowsky (Poland) Adolph Zukor, Pola Negri, Yehudi Menuhin (Hungary) \*Hit the “home run heard 'round the world” for the Giants in 1951 (“The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!”) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-born-us-political-figures/293728.md?page=2)