# Gerald Ford - Now holds US Presidential longevity record. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 12, 2006, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gerald-ford-now-holds-us-presidential-longevity-record/380090 "2006-11-12T09:18:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gerald-ford-now-holds-us-presidential-longevity-record/380090/1 "2006-11-12T09:18:33Z")
The previous record for US Presidential longevity was held by **Ronald Reagan** Born 02/06/1911 Died 06/05/2004 34,088 Days **Gerald Ford** , born July 14, 1913 has lived 34,089 days as of Nov 12, 2006 . Congratulations Gerry !!! ---
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gerald-ford-now-holds-us-presidential-longevity-record/380090/2 "2006-11-12T09:47:57Z")
Anything that bests Ronnie Rayguns is A-OK with me. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gerald-ford-now-holds-us-presidential-longevity-record/380090/3 "2006-11-12T12:27:21Z")
Atta boy Gerry! Will he be our first presidential centenarian? Now if Jimmy Carter, who seems to be in fairly good health, keeps it going we could have 3 consecutive presidents that lived past 90. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gerald-ford-now-holds-us-presidential-longevity-record/380090/4 "2006-11-12T12:54:19Z")
Ford is on my DeathPool list. The longer he lives the less points I get. I am so going to Hell for that. Honestly, I wish him the longest life he can possibly live. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gerald-ford-now-holds-us-presidential-longevity-record/380090/5 "2006-11-12T14:24:26Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Atta boy Gerry! Will he be our first presidential centenarian? Thatā€™d be pretty good, but it looks to me like [Robert Byrd](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Byrd) is aiming to be our first centenarian sitting Senator. Heā€™ll be 95 when his next term ends, and I have no doubt that if heā€™s still breathing heā€™ll run for re-election. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gerald-ford-now-holds-us-presidential-longevity-record/380090/6 "2006-11-12T15:21:30Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Thatā€™d be pretty good, but it looks to me like [Robert Byrd](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Byrd) is aiming to be our first centenarian sitting Senator. [/QUOTE] Have you forgotten about [Strom Thurmond](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strom_Thurmond) so soon? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gerald-ford-now-holds-us-presidential-longevity-record/380090/7 "2006-11-12T15:28:04Z")
Hmmm. I didnā€™t remember that Strom made it to 100 while in office. I guess Byrd will just have to shoot for being the first sesquicentenarian Senator. Good luck to him. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gerald-ford-now-holds-us-presidential-longevity-record/380090/8 "2006-11-12T15:44:59Z")
Congrats, Jerry! Ford is already the subject of one of my favoritest bits of trivia ever, of course: ā€œWhich US President was born a King?ā€ See, his biological father and his motherā€™s first husband was Leslie Lynch King, and in fact Ford was originally named Leslie Lynch King, Jr. His parents divorced when he was a baby and before the boy was old enough to remember his mother had remarried, to Gerald Rudolff Ford, and the little fellowā€™s name was legally changed to Gerald Rudolff Ford, Jr. (Later he changed the spelling of his middle name to the more common Rudolph.) Ford himself didnā€™t learn about any of this until he was in his teens and has always maintained that as far as he is concerned, his stepfather was his true father. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gerald-ford-now-holds-us-presidential-longevity-record/380090/9 "2006-11-12T15:50:05Z")
Well, he has at last achieved something meritorous. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gerald-ford-now-holds-us-presidential-longevity-record/380090/10 "2006-11-12T16:02:33Z")
FORD GAINS PRESIDENCY WITH SMALLEST MAJORITY IN HISTORY Carries No States, Wins No Votes ā€“ Headline, _National Lampoon_, 1974 ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gerald-ford-now-holds-us-presidential-longevity-record/380090/11 "2006-11-12T16:06:44Z")
Itā€™d be funny if the shortest sitting President of the 20th Century turned out to be the longest lived of 20th Century Presidents. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gerald-ford-now-holds-us-presidential-longevity-record/380090/12 "2006-11-12T16:10:09Z")
Ladybird Johnson is still alive, too. I find that even more bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gerald-ford-now-holds-us-presidential-longevity-record/380090/13 "2006-11-12T17:04:06Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Hmmm. I didnā€™t remember that Strom made it to 100 while in office. [/QUOTE] To be fair, Iā€™m not sure Strom was actually still sitting (up) at the time he made it. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gerald-ford-now-holds-us-presidential-longevity-record/380090/14 "2006-11-12T17:15:47Z")
[QUOTE=LavenderBlue] Ladybird Johnson is still alive, too. I find that even more bizarre. [/QUOTE] She was mysteriously rejuvenated, oh, sometime around early 1973. I understand her hair turned quite gold from grief. [sub]Thank you, Oscar Wilde[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gerald-ford-now-holds-us-presidential-longevity-record/380090/15 "2006-11-12T20:59:04Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Itā€™d be funny if the shortest sitting President of the 20th Century turned out to be the longest lived of 20th Century Presidents. [/QUOTE] And if he manages to live another two years, heā€™ll beat Hooverā€™s record for living longest after leaving office (31 years, 10 months).