In its 238-year history as a nation, the U.S. has had 43 different presidents. People have long debated which ones were better (or worse) than others. Which ones rose to the challenge of the office and which ones found themselves defeated by it. This is the definitive ranking of U.S. presidents by how many of their bones we could obtain.
43. George W. Bush
We currently possess none of the 43rd president’s bones.
42. Barack Obama
We’ve collected a few of President Obama’s molars, but no bones.
41. George H.W. Bush
Clavicle.
40. Bill Clinton
Fragments of first and second thoracic vertebrae (T1 and T2).
39. Jimmy Carter
Four bones: the inferior nasal concha, the left patella, and two ribs.
38. Warren G. Harding
Nine out of 10 distal phalanges.
37. Lyndon B. Johnson
15 bones. (Special thanks to the late Lady Bird Johnson!)
36. Calvin Coolidge
16 bones.
35. William Howard Taft
19 bones and some pelvic fragments.
34. Ronald Reagan
Full skull (22 bones).
33. Ulysses S. Grant
We opened up Ulysses S. Grant’s tomb and found that it had been robbed long ago. We still managed to find 23 bones, and what we believe to be the femur of Robert E. Lee, for some reason.
32. Chester A. Arthur
30 bones.
31. Harry S. Truman
36 bones.
30. James Madison
38 bones.
29. Andrew Jackson
45 bones and a lock of hair.
28. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
49 bones.
27. James K. Polk
Skull (22 bones), spine (26 bones), and all five distal phalanges of the right foot, for a total of 53 bones.
26. Millard Fillmore
55 bones.
25. James Monroe
55 1/2 bones.
24. Zachary Taylor
58 bones.
23. Dwight D. Eisenhower
64 bones.
22. John Adams
79 bones.
21. Benjamin Harrison
111 bones exactly.
20. Woodrow Wilson
113 bones.
19. Andrew Johnson
123 bones, but we’ve been finding a lot of his lately, so in all likelihood, much more to come.
18. Grover Cleveland
140 bones.
17. James A. Garfield
142 bones.
16. John F. Kennedy
146 bones that were harder to obtain than you might think.
15. Gerald R. Ford
154 bones.
14. John Tyler
169 bones.
13. Thomas Jefferson
173 bones and a fossilized mandible.
12. William McKinley
185 bones.
11. James Buchanan
188 bones.
10. William Henry Harrison
190 bones and some skull fragments.
9. John Quincy Adams
We bought 192 bones off a guy who claimed they belong to John Quincy Adams. Until they’re verified by osteologists, we’ll include them here along with this disclaimer.
8. George Washington
195 bones.
7. Martin Van Buren
196 bones.
6. Rutherford B. Hayes
198 bones, including a perfectly preserved tibia.
5. Herbert Hoover
200 bones.
4. Richard M. Nixon
205 bones (so close!).
3. Abraham Lincoln
Full skeleton.
2. Franklin Pierce
Full skeleton with teeth.
1. Theodore Roosevelt
1,857 bones.
