Joe Biden was 78 years and 61 days old on the date of his inauguration, making him the oldest president in U.S. history. It appears that another record will be set after the 2024 election, as well. With Nikki Haley’s recent announcement that she is suspending her bid for the Republican nomination, Donald Trump is all but certain to be the party’s nominee. Trump will be 78 years and 220 days old on Inauguration Day 2025, while Biden will be 82 years and 61 days old. Either way, it would mark the oldest person to ever take the presidential oath in U.S. history. By contrast, the youngest president in U.S. history was Theodore Roosevelt, who was only 42 years and 322 days old at the start of his presidency. (Here are 13 amazing facts about Joe Biden from his younger days.)
While much has been made about Joe Biden’s age, what about his height? Where does he rank among the tallest presidents in U.S. history? Admittedly, this is not as consequential or controversial as the questions swirling about the president’s age, but it’s still pretty interesting.
24/7 Wall St. accessed information that is available in the public record for use in this story.
Do Taller Candidates Win More Elections?
The average height of the 45 men who have served as U.S. president is approximately 5 feet, 11 inches. That is about two inches taller than the height of an average man in the U.S. today. Does that mean that taller people have an advantage in being elected to the presidency? Some claim that it does.
It has been suggested that in a contest between two candidates of disparate heights, the taller person has a better chance of winning the election. But does this theory have any basis in history? Well, sort of.
There have been 59 presidential elections in U.S. history, three of which featured one candidate who ran unopposed (1788, 1792, and 1820). Of the 56 contests that featured multiple candidates, three involved candidates of the exact same height (1832, 1884, and 2012). This leaves 53 presidential elections where the candidates were of different heights. In those contests, the tallest candidate won 29 times. That is a winning percentage of just under 55%, which may reveal that taller candidates have a very slight edge. It hardly supports the notion that somehow a taller candidate has an insurmountable advantage, though.
There have been 31 presidential elections since 1900. Out of those 31 contests, the taller candidate won 21 times. Taller candidates have certainly won more than their fair share of elections in the last 120 years.
It has been theorized that a candidate’s height became even more important with the advent of televised debates in 1960. In the 16 presidential contests since 1960, the taller candidate won 10 times.
More recently, though, the “taller candidate always wins” theory has lost traction. In the six presidential elections since 2000, the taller candidate has only won twice.
Joe Biden’s Height
Last month, President Biden underwent a physical examination administered by Dr. Kevin C. O’Connor who has served as Physician to the President for Biden’s entire term in office. Dr. O’Connor’s report includes the president’s vital signs. Biden’s blood pressure was 132/68, which is slightly elevated. His weight was 178 pounds and his body mass index was 24.1, which is within the healthy range. His height was listed as 72 inches (6 feet).
To put President Biden’s height into historical perspective, here is a look at the height of every American president from shortest to tallest.
45. James Madison
- Chronology: 4th U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 4 inches
James Madison was the shortest president in U.S. history, standing 5 feet, 4 inches tall. He was also the lightest, only weighing around 100 pounds according to some estimates.
43. (tie) Martin Van Buren
- Chronology: 8th U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 6 inches
43. (tie) Benjamin Harrison
- Chronology: 23rd U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 6 inches
41. (tie) John Adams
- Chronology: 2nd U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 7 inches
41. (tie) William McKinley
- Chronology: 25th U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 7 inches
40. John Quincy Adams
- Chronology: 6th U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 7 ½ inches
36. (tie) William Henry Harrison
- Chronology: 9th U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 8 inches
36. (tie) James K. Polk
- Chronology: 11th U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 8 inches
36. (tie) Zachary Taylor
- Chronology: 12th U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 8 inches
36. (tie) Ulysses S. Grant
- Chronology: 18th U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 8 inches
35. Rutherford B. Hayes
- Chronology: 19th U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 8 ½ inches
33. (tie) Millard Fillmore
- Chronology: 13th U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 9 inches
33. (tie) Harry S. Truman
- Chronology: 33rd U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 9 inches
32. Jimmy Carter
- Chronology: 39th U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 9 ½ inches
Jimmy Carter is only the 32nd tallest president, but he is tops in a much more important category. At 99 years old, Carter is the longest-lived president in American history.
28. (tie) Franklin Pierce
- Chronology: 14th U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 10 inches
28. (tie) Andrew Johnson
- Chronology: 17th U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 10 inches
28. (tie) Theodore Roosevelt
- Chronology: 26th U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 10 inches
28. (tie) Calvin Coolidge
- Chronology: 30th U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 10 inches
27. Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Chronology: 34th U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 10 ½ inches
25. (tie) Grover Cleveland
- Chronology: 22nd and 24th U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 11 inches
25. (tie) Woodrow Wilson
- Chronology: 28th U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 11 inches
Grover Cleveland and Woodrow Wilson both stood 5 feet, 11 inches tall, the exact average height among all American presidents.
21. (tie) William Howard Taft
- Chronology: 27th U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 11 ½ inches
While William Howard Taft was nowhere near the tallest president, he holds the record as the heaviest. Taft’s weight fluctuated a great deal, but it is estimated that, at his heaviest, the 27th president may have weighed upwards of 340-350 pounds.
21. (tie) Herbert Hoover
- Chronology: 31st U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 11 ½ inches
21. (tie) Richard Nixon
- Chronology: 37th U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 11 ½ inches
21. (tie) George W. Bush
- Chronology: 43rd U.S. President
- Height: 5 feet, 11 ½ inches
14. (tie) James Monroe
- Chronology: 5th U.S. President
- Height: 6 feet, 0 inches
14. (tie) John Tyler
- Chronology: 10th U.S. President
- Height: 6 feet, 0 inches
14, (tie) James Buchanan
- Chronology: 15th U.S. President
- Height: 6 feet, 0 inches
14. (tie) James A. Garfield
- Chronology: 20th U.S. President
- Height: 6 feet, 0 inches
14. (tie) Warren G. Harding
- Chronology: 29th U.S. President
- Height: 6 feet, 0 inches
14. (tie) Gerald Ford
- Chronology: 38th U.S. President
- Height: 6 feet, 0 inches
14. (tie) Joe Biden
- Chronology: 46th U.S. President
- Height: 6 feet, 0 inches
Joe Biden is six feet tall, which is one inch taller than the average height of America’s 45 presidents. It places Biden in a seven-way tie for 14th place among the tallest presidents in U.S. history.
11. (tie) Andrew Jackson
- Chronology: 7th U.S. President
- Height: 6 feet, 1 inch
11. (tie) John F. Kennedy
- Chronology: 35th U.S. President
- Height: 6 feet, 1 inch
John F. Kennedy is among the taller presidents in U.S. history. Sadly, though, he was also the shortest-lived. Kennedy died from an assassin’s bullet at just 46 years old.
11. (tie) Ronald Reagan
- Chronology: 40th U.S. President
- Height: 6 feet, 1 inch
9. (tie) George Washington
- Chronology: 1st U.S. President
- Height: 6 feet, 1 ½ inches
9. (tie) Barack Obama
- Chronology: 44th U.S. President
- Height: 6 feet, 1 ½ inches
6. (tie) Chester Arthur
- Chronology: 21st U.S. President
- Height: 6 feet, 2 inches
6. (tie) Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Chronology: 32nd U.S. President
- Height: 6 feet, 2 inches
6. (tie) George H.W. Bush
- Chronology: 41st U.S. President
- Height: 6 feet, 2 inches
4. (tie) Thomas Jefferson
- Chronology: 3rd U.S. President
- Height: 6 feet, 2 ½ inches
4. (tie) Bill Clinton
- Chronology: 42nd U.S. President
- Height: 6 feet, 2 ½ inches
Fun fact: William Jefferson Clinton is the exact same height as Thomas Jefferson.
3. Donald Trump
- Chronology: 45th U.S. President
- Height: 6 feet, 3 inches
Donald Trump is not only the second-oldest person to serve as president, he is also one of the tallest at 6 feet, 3 inches. There has been some discrepancy over Trump’s height, though. His Selective Service Card and his previous New York driver’s license both list his height as 6 feet, 2 inches. In this case, Trump would drop into a tie for sixth place with Chester Arthur, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and George H.W. Bush regarding presidential height.
However, the 2019 report from Dr. Sean P. Conley, Physician to the President during Trump’s presidential term, lists his height at 6 feet, 3 inches. Using this measurement, Trump is the third-tallest person to serve as president.
2. Lyndon B. Johnson
- Chronology: 36th U.S. President
- Height: 6 feet, 3 ½ inches
1. Abraham Lincoln
- Chronology: 16th U.S. President
- Height: 6 feet, 4 inches
Abraham Lincoln is widely regarded as the greatest president in American history. He is also the tallest at 6 feet, 4 inches, making him exactly one foot taller than James Madison, America’s shortest president. Lincoln is a towering figure in American history in more ways than one!
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