If so, what tricks do you use, historical or mnemonic, to keep them all straight (except Buchanan) and in the right order?
I tried memorizing them all in grade school–back then there were many fewer, of course, but keeping straight the ones elected during my lifetime is much easier. I have a hard time after Tyler and before Lincoln, and then hit another rough patch between Hayes and Cleveland, though eventually I can usually recite all of their names, and often a fact or two about each one that serves to remind me of when exactly they served in office. This morning, for example, I forgot about Frank Pierce for a few minutes.
What are your tricks and memory-prompters?
This can help; thank you Animaniacs.
It takes you up to Clinton and if you can’t remember the rest, the early ones are hopeless. 
We had to memorize them in order to pass fifth grade, had to stand up at our desk and recite them to the class. Also had a pop quiz everyday where the teacher would ask a student to stand up and tell her the capitol of a specific state. I passed both easily.
IIRC Tyler Polk(ed) Taylor and Fillmore Pierce(d) Buchanan was one of the memory tricks used.
Yes. I don’t have any tricks – to me, it is just one of those things I learned in childhood and therefore will remember forever, like the states in alphabetical order, how to count by twelves, and the lyrics to “Miss Susie had a steamboat.” It would simply sound wrong if I missed one or got them out of order.
Nope. Never had to, never saw the need to, and now I don’t want to because I want to save what little I have left of brain cells for other information, like where I left my phone.
(That said, if I did, I would totally start with the Animaniacs.)
This one goes up to W:
Youtube has some are live recordings that have been updated as far as Obama, but in every one I’ve heard he stumbled over the lyrics at one point or another.
I’m more logic and history-based here. My logic is that I know Tyler succeeded Harrison because of “Tippecanoe…” and that Tyler-Taylor would be memorable in itself, so someone else must succeed Tyler.
I remember that Polk was a one-termer who waged war on Mexico, so Taylor who was a general in the Mexican War must have been elected after Polk, and that Taylor dropped dead (from eating cherries?) so he must have been succeeded by his VP. Since Fillmore is usually described as a non-entity I’ll make him that VP, and since I know Buchanan preceded Lincoln, that leaves only one term, which must belong to Franklin Pierce. Takes me about 10 minutes to get all that straight.
They wrote new verses for the last few presidents as part of the “Catch-Up Song”:
When a joke made me a joker, Van had to poke the fiery poker but let jokes go. Hastily galloping across country, Harry cleverly made ready to watch his cool horse run to eastern Kansas.
After Kennedy, you’re on your own.
Perhaps now I would use this type of method since I am familiar with history, but fifth grade me didn’t know much of any of this and only would have confused me. At the time it was an exercise in rote memorization, like the first time we had to memorize the multiplication table the year before.
In AP U.S. History we had to memorize the President, Vice President, and their opponents in every presidential election from Washington onward. Of course, there were a lot less in those days. Our teacher explained that this wasn’t a useless exercise because we would then have the background to know what the issues were at the time, and what the country was debating. I doubt my kids know much about William Jennings Bryant, but knowing about his presidential runs did flesh out some interesting social and political issues of the late 1800s. Henry Clay running against Polk in 1844 makes you wonder what would have happened if Clay had won.
I know:
1 Canadian Prime Ministers, 1867 onwards.
2 Kings of England / Great Britain / United Kingdom, 1066 onwards.
3 Presidents of the US, 1789 onwards.
- almost all Veeps, 1789 onwards.
I memorized all the presidents back in school. It helps that I naturally visualize years and can easily fit them in.
I also remember all the UK kings from 1066.
Wow, I can do only all the ones of my lifetime.
(and maybe a few more, but if they didn’t have numbers after their names, I’d never get them in order.)
I have a good memory. In high school, memorized the periodic table over a weekend on a bet. Names and atomic numbers were easy. Atomic weight was a bit trickier.
That one I’ve forgotten since I’ve not done chemistry since uni.
Brit here.
I can match your Kings & Presidents but I fail miserably on Canadian PMs & US Vice Presidents, in which categories I score single figures.
Cheeky and tangential I know, but I’m curious to learn how many past British PMs are known to historically educated board members on the North American continent.
If this question represents unacceptable topic drift I’m prepared to be summarily chastised.
There’s the guy who appeased Hitler, and the guy who beat Hitler.
And Major, May, Blair and Thatcher.
I’ll step up to the plate and be honest. I can only name a few.
Walpole was first I think. William Pitt, The Elder and the Younger.
Disraeli who was born Jewish
Chamberlain of course and sadly.
Winston Churchill, his Mom was American (Brooklyn in fact) and he is my favorite PM.
Thatcher, Major, Blair, Brown, ???, Theresa May, Boris Johnson.
I never had to memorize them in school, but I did it on my own a few years ago, just because I thought it was something I should know. My strategy was to tackle them five at a time. I started with WashingtonAdamsJeffersonMadisonMonroe. Once I had that down, I went to the next five.
I did this whenever I was bored, and often while driving to and from work. Before long, I had them all down.
I still run through them now and then so I don’t lose it.
mmm
British PMs? Lessee, without Googling, I can name them in order from Bojo back to Thatcher: Johnson, May, Brown, Blair, Major, Thatcher. Before that, I’m unsure on the order, but…Wilson, Callaghan, Chamberlain, Churchill, Balfour, Lloyd George, Atlee, Gladstone, Disraeli, Peel, Walpole, Pitt the Elder, Pitt the Younger…huh. Thought I knew more than that. Although there are a handful that I’m not sure about, because, while they led the government, they were aristocrats and therefore not in the House of Commons, so I don’t know if they were “Prime Ministers”: Lord North, the Duke of Wellington, Lord Shelburne, the Earl of Rochester.
Not sure about Primrose, Haig, or Aneurin Bevan. Charles James Fox? Was he ever P.M.?
As for our northern neighbors, I can name a few that I suspect most Americans have never heard of, like Sir John Macdonald, Wilfried Laurier, William Lyon Mackenzie King, and John Diefenbaker.
