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== October 2008 ==
This is a '''list of heights of United States presidential candidates'''.
<!--
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*[[U.S. customary unit]]s - Based on the Imperial system, commonly known as the English system or British system of measure. Units used here are [[Foot (unit of length)|feet]] (ft) & [[inch]]es (in).
*[[SI|Metric]] is the International System of Units, commonly known as the "metric system." Units used here are [[metre|meters]].


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==2008==
Most estimates put the height of Barack Obama, the [[nominee]] of the [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic Party]] in the [[United States presidential election, 2008|2008 U.S. presidential election]], between 6 ft 1 in and 6 ft 2 in (approximately 1.87 meters).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/02/12/obama_natural/|author=Edward McClelland|accessdate=2008-07-15|publisher=Salon Media Group|title=How Obama learned to be a natural}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.celebheights.com/s/Barack-Obama-4695.html|title=Varying opinions on Obama's height}}</ref>


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[[John McCain]], the [[nominee]] of the [[United States Republican Party]] in the [[United States presidential election, 2008]], is 5 ft 6 in (1.68 meters).<ref name=AP>{{cite news|url=http://cbs5.com/campaign08/john.mccain.health.2.731119.html|title=Medical Records Show McCain In General Good Health|work=[[AP]]|date=2008-05-24|accessdate=2008-06-10}}</ref> Were McCain elected to the presidency, he would be the shortest president in 120 years and tied for the second-shortest president of all time.


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The height difference between them is around seven inches (18 centimeters) with McCain being four inches (or 10 centimeters) shorter than the average height of all U.S. Presidents at 5 ft 10 in (178 cm): a number that has been rising along with the height of the general United States population.


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Democratic Vice Presidential nominee [[Joseph Biden]] is 6 ft (1.83 meters) tall.<ref name="bidenimdb">[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0081182/bio Joseph R. Biden Bio]</ref> Republican Vice Presidential nominee [[Sarah Palin]] is 5 ft 5 in (1.65 meters) tall. <ref name="palinimdb">[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3126606/bio]</ref>


==12 hour block==
==U.S. Presidents by height order==
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The average American male (2005 data) is 5&nbsp;ft 9.2&nbsp;in (1.76 m)<ref name=cdc>[http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/growthcharts2/f/avg_ht_male.htm MAverage Height for a Man Statistics 2005]</ref>, with a slightly rising trend reflective of the rise in height of the general U.S. population. Incidentally, however, some of the tallest U.S. Presidents were of the young republic. The tallest [[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]] was [[Eleanor Roosevelt]], who was 5' 11" (1.83 m).

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Rank !! President !! [[U.S. customary units|U.S. customary<br>unit]]s !! [[SI|Metric]]
|-
| align=right | 1&nbsp;|| [[Abraham Lincoln]] || 6&nbsp;ft 3 3/4 &nbsp;in || 1.93&nbsp;m
|-
| align=right | 2&nbsp;|| [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] || 6&nbsp;ft 3½&nbsp;in || 1.92&nbsp;m
|-
| align=right | 3&nbsp;|| [[Bill Clinton]] <br> [[Thomas Jefferson]] || 6&nbsp;ft 2½&nbsp;in || 1.89&nbsp;m
|-
| align=right | 5&nbsp;|| [[Chester A. Arthur]]<br>[[George H. W. Bush]]<br>[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]<br>[[George Washington]] || 6&nbsp;ft 2&nbsp;in || 1.88&nbsp;m
|- bgcolor=#808080
| align=right | X&nbsp;|| [[Barack Obama]] || ~6&nbsp;ft 1&nbsp;in || ~1.87&nbsp;m
|-
| align=right | 9&nbsp;|| [[Andrew Jackson]]<br>[[Ronald Reagan]] || 6&nbsp;ft 1&nbsp;in || 1.85&nbsp;m
|-
| align=right | 11&nbsp;|| [[James Buchanan]]<br>[[Gerald Ford]]<br>[[James Garfield]]<br>[[Warren Harding]]<br>[[John F. Kennedy]]<br>[[James Monroe]]<br>[[William Howard Taft]]<br>[[John Tyler]] || 6&nbsp;ft 0&nbsp;in || 1.83&nbsp;m
|-
| align=right | 19&nbsp;|| [[Richard Nixon]] || 5&nbsp;ft 11½&nbsp;in || 1.82&nbsp;m
|-
| align=right | 20&nbsp;|| [[George W. Bush]]<br>[[Grover Cleveland]]<br>[[Herbert Hoover]]<br>[[Woodrow Wilson]] || 5&nbsp;ft 11&nbsp;in || 1.80&nbsp;m
|-
| align=right | 24&nbsp;|| [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]|| 5&nbsp;ft 10½&nbsp;in || 1.79&nbsp;m
|-
| align=right | 25&nbsp;|| [[Calvin Coolidge]]<br>[[Andrew Johnson]]<br>[[Franklin Pierce]]<br>[[Theodore Roosevelt]] || 5&nbsp;ft 10&nbsp;in || 1.78&nbsp;m
|-
| align=right | 29&nbsp;|| [[Jimmy Carter]]<br>[[Millard Fillmore]]<br>[[Harry S. Truman]] || 5&nbsp;ft 9&nbsp;in || 1.75&nbsp;m
|-
| align=right | 32&nbsp;|| [[Rutherford B. Hayes]]<br>|| 5&nbsp;ft 8½&nbsp;in || 1.74&nbsp;m
|-
| align=right | 33&nbsp;|| [[William Henry Harrison]]<br>[[James Polk]]<br>[[Zachary Taylor]] || 5&nbsp;ft 8&nbsp;in || 1.73&nbsp;m
|-
| align=right | 36&nbsp;|| [[Ulysses S. Grant]] || 5&nbsp;ft 7¾&nbsp;in || 1.72&nbsp;m
|-
| align=right | 37&nbsp;|| [[John Adams]]<br>[[John Quincy Adams]]<br>[[William McKinley]]|| 5&nbsp;ft 7&nbsp;in || 1.70&nbsp;m
|- bgcolor=#808080
| align=right | X&nbsp;|| [[John McCain]] || 5&nbsp;ft 6&nbsp;in || 1.68&nbsp;m<ref>http://wcbstv.com/campaign08/john.mccain.health.2.731119.html</ref>
|-
| align=right | 40&nbsp;|| [[Benjamin Harrison]]<br>[[Martin Van Buren]] || 5&nbsp;ft 6&nbsp;in || 1.68&nbsp;m
|-
| align=right | 42&nbsp;|| [[James Madison]] || 5&nbsp;ft 4&nbsp;in || 1.63&nbsp;m
|}

==Comparative table of heights of United States presidential candidates==
{| class="wikitable"
| bgcolor=#CCFFCC | <small>&nbsp;'''TALLER''' candidate was inaugurated&nbsp;</small>|| bgcolor=#FFFFCC | <small>&nbsp;'''SHORTER''' candidate was inaugurated&nbsp;</small>
|-
| bgcolor=#E6E6AA | <small>&nbsp;Candidates same height&nbsp;</small> || bgcolor=#FFFFFF | <small>&nbsp;Comparison data unavailable&nbsp;</small>
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- align="top"
! Year !! Winner !! Height<br><small>([[U.S. customary units|Imperial]])</small> !! Height<br><small>([[SI|Metric]])</small> !! Runner-up<br><small>(by [[electoral vote]] count)</small> !! Height<br><small>([[U.S. customary units|Imperial]])</small> !! Height<br><small>([[SI|Metric]])</small> !! Difference <br><small>([[U.S. customary units|Imperial]])</small> !! Difference <br><small>([[SI|Metric]])</small>
|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC align=center
<!-- SORTING NOTE: The imperial columns have a display:none parameter for sorting purposes. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Sorting#Sorting_with_hidden_sortkey -->
| [[U.S. presidential election, 2004|2004]] || [[George W. Bush]] || <span style="display:none">71 in</span>5 ft 11 in || 1.80 m || [[John Kerry]] || <span style="display:none">76 in</span>6 ft 4 in || 1.93 m || 5 in || 0.13 m
|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 2000|2000]] || [[George W. Bush]] || <span style="display:none">71 in</span>5 ft 11 in || 1.80 m ||[[Al Gore]]* || <span style="display:none">72.5 in</span>6 ft ½ in || 1.84 m || 1½ in || 0.04 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1996|1996]] || [[Bill Clinton]] || <span style="display:none">74.5 in</span>6 ft 2½ in || 1.89 m || [[Bob Dole]] || <span style="display:none">72 in</span>6 ft 0 in || 1.83 m || 1½ in || 0.04 m
|- bgcolor= #CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1992|1992]] || [[Bill Clinton]] || <span style="display:none">74.5 in</span>6 ft 2½ in || 1.89 m || [[George H.W. Bush]] || <span style="display:none">74 in</span>6 ft 2 in || 1.88 m || ½ in || 0.01 m
|- bgcolor= #CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1988|1988]] || [[George H.W. Bush]] || <span style="display:none">74 in</span>6 ft 2 in || 1.88 m || [[Michael Dukakis]] || <span style="display:none">66 in</span>5 ft 6 in || 1.67 m || 8 in || 0.21 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1984|1984]] || [[Ronald Reagan]] || <span style="display:none">73 in</span>6 ft 1 in || 1.85 m || [[Walter Mondale]] || <span style="display:none">70.75 in</span>5 ft 10¾ in || 1.80 m || 2¼ in || 0.05 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1980|1980]] || [[Ronald Reagan]] || <span style="display:none">73 in</span>6 ft 1 in || 1.85 m || [[Jimmy Carter]] || <span style="display:none">69 in</span>5 ft 9 in || 1.75 m || 4 in || 0.10 m
|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1976|1976]] || [[Jimmy Carter]] || <span style="display:none">69 in</span>5 ft 9 in || 1.75 m || [[Gerald Ford]] || <span style="display:none">73 in</span>6 ft 1 in || 1.85 m || 4 in || 0.10 m
|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1972|1972]] || [[Richard Nixon]] || <span style="display:none">71.5 in</span>5 ft 11½ in || 1.82 m || [[George McGovern]] || <span style="display:none">73 in</span>6 ft 1 in || 1.85 m || 1½ in || 0.03 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1968|1968]] || [[Richard Nixon]] || <span style="display:none">71.5 in</span>5 ft 11½ in || 1.82 m || [[Hubert Humphrey]] || <span style="display:none">71 in</span>5 ft 11 in || 1.80 m || ½ in || 0.02 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1964|1964]] || [[Lyndon Johnson]]<ref name="lbj">Dallek, Robert, ''Lyndon B. Johnson: Portrait of a President'' (abridged edition), Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-19-515920-9 [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0195159209 Google Print]</ref> || <span style="display:none">75.5 in</span>6 ft 3½ in || 1.92 m || [[Barry Goldwater]] || <span style="display:none">72 in</span>6 ft 0 in || 1.83 m || 3½ in || 0.09 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1960|1960]] || [[John F. Kennedy]] || <span style="display:none">72 in</span>6 ft 0 in || 1.83 m || [[Richard Nixon]] || <span style="display:none">71.5 in</span>5 ft 11½ in || 1.82 m || 1 in || 0.01 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
|[[U.S. presidential election, 1956|1956]] || [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] || <span style="display:none">70.5 in</span>5 ft 10½ in || 1.79 m ||[[Adlai Stevenson]] || <span style="display:none">70 in</span>5 ft 10 in || 1.78 m || ½ in || 0.01 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1952|1952]] || [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] || <span style="display:none">70.5 in</span>5 ft 10½ in || 1.79 m || [[Adlai Stevenson]] || <span style="display:none">70 in</span>5 ft 10 in || 1.78 m || ½ in || 0.01 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1948|1948]] || [[Harry S. Truman]] || <span style="display:none">69 in</span>5 ft 9 in || 1.75 m || [[Thomas Dewey]] || <span style="display:none">68 in</span>5 ft 8 in || 1.73 m || 1 in || 0.02 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1944|1944]] || [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] || <span style="display:none">74 in</span>6 ft 2 in || 1.88 m || [[Thomas Dewey]] || <span style="display:none">68 in</span>5 ft 8 in || 1.73 m || 6 in || 0.15 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1940|1940]] || [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] || <span style="display:none">74 in</span>6 ft 2 in || 1.88 m || [[Wendell Willkie]] || <span style="display:none">73 in</span>6 ft 1 in || 1.85 m || 1 in || 0.03 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1936|1936]] || [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] || <span style="display:none">74 in</span>6 ft 2 in || 1.88 m || [[Alfred Landon]] || <span style="display:none">68 in</span>5 ft 8 in || 1.73 m || 6 in || 0.15 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1932|1932]] || [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] || <span style="display:none">74 in</span>6 ft 2 in || 1.88 m || [[Herbert Hoover]] || <span style="display:none">71 in</span>5 ft 11 in || 1.80 m || 3 in || 0.08 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1928|1928]] || [[Herbert Hoover]]<ref name="hoover">Nash, George H., ''The Life of Herbert Hoover'', W.W. Norton & Company, 1988. ISBN 0-393-02550-0. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0393025500 Google Print]</ref> || <span style="display:none">71.5 in</span>5 ft 11½ in || 1.82 m || [[Al Smith]] || <span style="display:none">66 in</span>5 ft 6 in || 1.68 m || 5½ in || 0.13 m
|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1924|1924]] || [[Calvin Coolidge]] || <span style="display:none">70 in</span>5 ft 10 in || 1.78 m || [[John W. Davis]] || <span style="display:none">72 in</span>6 ft 0 in || 1.83 m || 2 in || 0.05 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1920|1920]] || [[Warren G. Harding]] || <span style="display:none">72 in</span>6 ft 0 in || 1.83 m || [[James M. Cox]] || <span style="display:none">66 in</span>5 ft 6 in || 1.68 m || 6 in || 0.15 m
|- bgcolor=#E6E6AA align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1916|1916]] || [[Woodrow Wilson]]<ref name="woodrow"/> || <span style="display:none">71 in</span>5 ft 11 in || 1.80 m || [[Charles Evans Hughes]] || <span style="display:none">71 in</span>5 ft 11 in || 1.80 m || 0 in || 0 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1912|1912]] || [[Woodrow Wilson]]<ref name="woodrow">Levin, Phyllis Lee, ''Edith & Woodrow: the Wilson White House'', New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. ISBN 0-7432-1158-8 [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0743211588 Google Print]</ref> || <span style="display:none">71 in</span>5 ft 11 in || 1.80 m || [[Theodore Roosevelt]]<ref name="reallife"/> || <span style="display:none">70 in</span>5 ft 10 in || 1.78 m || 1 in || 0.01 m
|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1908|1908]] || [[William Howard Taft]] || <span style="display:none">71.5 in</span>5 ft 11½ in<ref>Sotos, John G. Taft and Pickwick: sleep apnea in the White House. Chest. 2003;124:1133-1142.[http://www.chestjournal.org/cgi/content/full/124/3/1133 Online copy]</ref> || 1.82 m ||[[William Jennings Bryan]] || <span style="display:none">72 in</span>6 ft 0 in <!-- 5'10" ?? http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/bryan.html --> || 1.83 m || ½ in || 0.01 m
|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1904|1904]] || [[Theodore Roosevelt]]<ref name="reallife"/> || <span style="display:none">70 in</span>5 ft 10 in || 1.78 m ||[[Alton B. Parker]] || <span style="display:none">72 in</span>6 ft 0 in || 1.83 m || 2 in || 0.05 m
|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1900|1900]] || [[William McKinley]] || <span style="display:none">67 in</span>5 ft 7 in || 1.70 m || [[William Jennings Bryan]] || <span style="display:none">72 in</span>6 ft 0 in <!-- 5'10" ?? http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/bryan.html --> || 1.83 m || 5 in || 0.13 m
|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1896|1896]] || [[William McKinley]] || <span style="display:none">67 in</span>5 ft 7 in || 1.70 m || [[William Jennings Bryan]] <!-- 5'10" ?? http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/bryan.html -->|| <span style="display:none">72 in</span>6 ft 0 in || 1.83 m || 5 in || 0.13 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1892|1892]] || [[Grover Cleveland]] || <span style="display:none">71 in</span>5 ft 11 in || 1.80 m || [[Benjamin Harrison]] || <span style="display:none">66 in</span>5 ft 6 in || 1.68 m || 5 in || 0.12 m
|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1888|1888]] || [[Benjamin Harrison]]<ref name="littleben">Loderhouse, Gary and Nelson Price, William Addison Hunter, ''Legendary Hoosiers: Famous Folks from the State of Indiana'', Emmis Books, 1999. ISBN 1-57860-097-9 [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC02417928 Google Print]</ref> || <span style="display:none">66 in</span>5 ft 6 in || 1.68 m || [[Grover Cleveland]]* || <span style="display:none">71 in</span>5 ft 11 in || 1.80 m || 5 in || 0.12 m
|- bgcolor=#FFFFFF align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1884|1884]] || [[Grover Cleveland]] || <span style="display:none">71 in</span>5 ft 11 in || 1.80 m || [[James G. Blaine]] <!--http://books.google.com/books?id=TTfaG-dP9zUC Described as "tall"; his paternal grandfather was 6'--> || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; ||
|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1880|1880]] || [[James A. Garfield]] || <span style="display:none">72 in</span>6 ft 0 in || 1.83 m ||[[Winfield Hancock]] || <span style="display:none">74 in</span>6 ft 2 in || 1.88 m || 2 in || 0.05 m
|- bgcolor=#FFFFFF align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1876|1876]] || [[Rutherford B. Hayes]]<ref name="askmeanything">Phillips, Louis, ''Ask Me Anything About the Presidents'', HarperCollins, 1992. ISBN 0-380-76426-1</ref> || <span style="display:none">68 in</span>5 ft 8 in || 1.72 m || [[Samuel Tilden]]* || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; ||
|- bgcolor=#FFFFFF align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1872|1872]] || [[Ulysses S. Grant]]<ref name="usgrant"/> || <span style="display:none">68 in</span>5 ft 8 in || 1.73 m || [[Horace Greeley]] || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; ||
|- bgcolor=#FFFFFF align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1868|1868]] || [[Ulysses S. Grant]]<ref name="usgrant">King, Charles, ''The True Ulysses Grant'', Philadelphia & London, J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1914. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC02417928 Google Print]</ref> || <span style="display:none">68 in</span>5 ft 8 in || 1.73 m || [[Horatio Seymour]] || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; ||
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1864|1864]] || [[Abraham Lincoln]]<ref name="lincoln"/> || <span style="display:none">76 in</span>6 ft 4 in || 1.92 m || [[George B. McClellan|George McClellan]]<ref>Miller, William J., "Review of ''McClellan's War: The Failure of Moderation in the Struggle for the Union'' by Ethan Rafuse," ''America's Civil War'', http://www.historynet.com/acw/reviews/acwreview0306-1/</ref> || <span style="display:none">66 in</span>5 ft 6 in || 1.68 m || 10 in || 0.25 m
|- bgcolor=#FFFFFF align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1860|1860]] || [[Abraham Lincoln]]<ref name="lincoln">Braden, Waldo W.,
''Abraham Lincoln'', LSU Press, 1993. ISBN 0-8071-1852-4</ref> || <span style="display:none">76 in</span>6 ft 4 in || 1.92 m || [[John C. Breckenridge]] || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; ||
|- bgcolor=#FFFFFF align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1856|1856]] || [[James Buchanan]] || <span style="display:none">72 in</span>6 ft 0 in || 1.83 m || [[John C. Frémont]] || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; ||
|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1852|1852]] || [[Franklin Pierce]] || <span style="display:none">70 in</span>5 ft 10 in || 1.78 m || [[Winfield Scott]] || <span style="display:none">77 in</span>6 ft 5 in || 1.96 m || 7 in || 0.18 m
|- bgcolor=#FFFFFF align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1848|1848]] || [[Zachary Taylor]]<ref name="reallife">Whitcomb, John and Claire Whitcomb, ''Real Life at the White House'', Routledge (UK), 2002. ISBN 0-415-93951-8. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0415939518 Google Print]</ref> || <span style="display:none">68 in</span>5 ft 8 in || 1.73 m || [[Lewis Cass]] || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; ||
|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1844|1844]] || [[James K. Polk]]<ref>Behrman, Carol H. ''James K. Polk'', Twenty-First Century Books, 2004. ISBN 0-8225-1396-X</ref> || <span style="display:none">68 in</span>5 ft 8 in || 1.73 m || [[Henry Clay]]<ref name="selfmade"/> || <span style="display:none">73 in</span>6 ft 1 in || 1.85 m || 5 in || 0.13 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1840|1840]] || [[William Henry Harrison]] || <span style="display:none">68 in</span>5 ft 8 in || 1.73 m || [[Martin Van Buren]]<ref name="martinvanb"/>|| <span style="display:none">66 in</span>5 ft 6 in || 1.68 m || 2 in || 0.05 m
|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1836|1836]] || [[Martin Van Buren]]<ref name="martinvanb">Widmer, Ted and Arthur M. Schlesinger, Edward L. Widmer, ''Martin Van Buren'', Times Books, 2005, p. 2. ISBN 0-8050-6922-4</ref> || <span style="display:none">66 in</span>5 ft 6 in || 1.68 m || [[William Henry Harrison]] || <span style="display:none">68 in</span>5 ft 8 in || 1.73 m || 2 in || 0.05 m
|- bgcolor=#E6E6AA align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1832|1832]] || [[Andrew Jackson]]<ref name="andrewjackson">Remini, Robert V., ''Andrew Jackson'', HarperCollins, 1969, p. 15. ISBN 0-06-080132-8</ref> || <span style="display:none">73 in</span>6 ft 1 in || 1.85 m || [[Henry Clay]]<ref name="selfmade">Seymour, Charles C.B., ''Self-made Men'', Harper & Brothers, 1858. (Available via Google Print)</ref> || <span style="display:none">73 in</span>6 ft 1 in || 1.85 m || 0 in || 0 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1828|1828]] || [[Andrew Jackson]]<ref name="andrewjackson"/> || <span style="display:none">73 in</span>6 ft 1 in || 1.85 m || [[John Quincy Adams]]<ref name="jqa"/> || <span style="display:none">67 in</span>5 ft 7 in || 1.70 m || 6 in || 0.15 m
|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1824|1824]] || [[John Quincy Adams]]<ref name="jqa">Levy, Debbie, ''John Quincy Adams'', Twenty-First Century Books, 2004, p. 28. ISBN 0-8225-0825-7</ref> || <span style="display:none">67 in</span>5 ft 7 in || 1.70 m || [[Andrew Jackson]]<ref name="andrewjackson"/>* || <span style="display:none">73 in</span>6 ft 1 in || 1.85 m || 6 in || 0.15 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1820|1820]] || [[James Monroe]]<ref name="reallifewhitehouse">Whitcomb, John and Claire Whitcomb, ''Real Life at the White House'', Routledge (UK), 2002. ISBN 0-415-93951-8</ref> || <span style="display:none">72 in</span>6 ft 0 in || 1.83 m || [[John Quincy Adams]]<ref name="jqa"/> || <span style="display:none">67 in</span>5 ft 7 in || 1.70 m || 5 in || 0.13 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1816|1816]] || [[James Monroe]]<ref name="reallifewhitehouse"/> || <span style="display:none">72 in</span>6 ft 0 in || 1.83 m || [[Rufus King]] || <span style="display:none">70 in</span>5 ft 10 in || 1.78 m || 2 in || 0.05 m
|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1812|1812]] || [[James Madison]]<ref name="askmeanything"/> || <span style="display:none">64 in</span>5 ft 4 in || 1.63 m || [[De Witt Clinton]]<ref>Cornog, Evan, ''The Birth of Empire: DeWitt Clinton and the American Experience, 1769-1828'', ISBN 0-19-514051-6</ref> || <span style="display:none">75 in</span>6 ft 3 in || 1.91 m || 11 in || 0.28 m
|- bgcolor=#FFFFFF align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1808|1808]] || [[James Madison]]<ref name="askmeanything"/> || <span style="display:none">64 in</span>5 ft 4 in || 1.63 m || [[Charles Cotesworth Pinckney|Charles C. Pinckney]] || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp;
|- bgcolor=#FFFFFF align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1804|1804]] || [[Thomas Jefferson]]<ref name=jefferson>Macdonald, Zanne (ed.), Monticello Research Department, Monticello Report: Physical Descriptions of Thomas Jefferson, July 1992 http://www.monticello.org/reports/people/descriptions.html</ref> || <span style="display:none">74.5 in</span>6 ft 2½ in || 1.89 m || [[Charles Cotesworth Pinckney|Charles C. Pinckney]]|| &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp;
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1800|1800]] || [[Thomas Jefferson]]<ref name="jefferson"/> || <span style="display:none">74.5 in</span>6 ft 2½ in || 1.89 m || [[Aaron Burr]]<ref>Parton, James, ''The Life and Times of Aaron Burr'', Houghton, Mifflin and company, 1888. [http://books.google.com/books?id=99pgqHGrSowC Google Print]</ref> || <span style="display:none">66 in</span>5 ft 6 in || 1.68 m || 8½ in || 0.21 m
|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1796|1796]] || [[John Adams]]<ref name="adams">Ferling, John E., ''John Adams: A Life'', Owl Books, 1996, ISBN 0-8050-4576-7, p. 169. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0805045767 Google Print]</ref> || <span style="display:none">67 in</span>5 ft 7 in || 1.70 m || [[Thomas Jefferson]]<ref name="jefferson"/> || <span style="display:none">74.5 in</span>6 ft 2½ in || 1.89 m || 7½ in || 0.19 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1792|1792]] || [[George Washington]]<ref name="washington"/> || <span style="display:none">74 in</span>6 ft 2 in || 1.88 m || [[John Adams]]<ref name="adams"/> || <span style="display:none">67 in</span>5 ft 7 in || 1.70 m || 7 in || 0.18 m
|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center
| [[U.S. presidential election, 1789|1789]] || [[George Washington]]<ref name=washington>Haworth, Paul Leland, ''George Washington'', Kessinger Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1-4191-2162-6, p. 119. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN1419121626 Google Print]</ref> || <span style="display:none">74 in</span>6 ft 2 in || 1.88 m || [[John Adams]]<ref name="adams"/> || <span style="display:none">67 in</span>5 ft 7 in || 1.70 m || 7 in || 0.18 m
|}

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Note: Won popular vote, but not election.

==The taller man wins?==
{| align=right
| colspan=2 | [[Image:Potus-heights.png|thumb|300px|center|<small>Presidents, like the U.S. population, have grown taller over time.</small>]]
|-
|
| [[Image:Abraham Lincoln head on shoulders photo portrait.jpg|thumb|141px|right|<small>[[Abraham Lincoln]], the tallest President, was 6&nbsp;ft 3¾&nbsp;in (1.92&nbsp;m).</small>]]
|-
|
| [[Image:Jm4.gif|thumb|141px|right|<small>[[James Madison]], the shortest President, was 5&nbsp;ft 4&nbsp;in (1.63 m).</small>]]
|-
|
| [[Image:Election heights 1798-2004.png|thumb|300px|right|Graph of winner v. loser heights in Presidential elections from 1798 - 2004. (Click to enlarge){{Or|date=September 2007}}]]
|}

The table above was created to compare the veracity of the folk wisdom about U.S. presidential politics that the taller of the two major-party candidates always wins or always wins since the advent of the televised presidential debate, since 1900, and so on.

* An example of this view is included in a 2003 [[essay]] by ''[[New York Times]]'' writer [[Virginia Postrel]] about artificially increasing the height of growth-stunted children: "Still, being short does, on average, hurt a person's prospects...The tall guy gets the girl. The taller presidential candidate almost always wins."<ref>Postrel, Virginia, [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E1DA173BF937A2575AC0A9659C8B63 "Going to Great Lengths,"] ''New York Times'', August 31, 2003.</ref>
* A 1988 article in the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' fashion section about a [[haberdasher]] devoted to clothing shorter men included a variation of the tale: "Stern says he just learned that [[Michael Dukakis|Dukakis]] is 5 feet, 8 inches. 'Did you know,' he adds, noticeably disappointed, 'that since 1900 the taller of the two candidates always wins?' "<ref>''Los Angeles Times'', Mar 25, 1988, pg. 7</ref>
* A 1997 book called ''How to Make Anyone Fall in Love with You'' discusses the issue in a section about the importance of height, "What about height? One assumes the taller the better, because our culture venerates height. In fact, practically every president elected in the United States since 1900 was the taller of the two candidates."<ref name="love">Lowndes, Leil, ''How to Make Anyone Fall in Love with You'', McGraw-Hill Professional, 1997, pp.174-175. ISBN 0-8092-2989-7[http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0809229897 Google Print]</ref>
* "I remember the subversive effect the observation had on me that in every U.S. presidential race, the taller of the two candidates had been elected. It opened up space for a counterdiscourse to the presumed rationality of the electoral process."<ref name="foucault">''Telling the Truth: Evangelizing Postmoderns'', edited by D.A. Carson, Zondervan, 2002, p. 83. ISBN 0-310-24334-3 [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0310243343 Google Print]</ref>
* A 1975 book called ''First Impressions: The Psychology of Encountering Others'' notes, "Elevator Shoes, Anyone? One factor which has a far-reaching influence on how people are perceived, at least in American society, is height. From 1900 to 1968 the man elected U.S. president was always the taller of the two candidates. (Richard Nixon was slightly taller than George McGovern.)"<ref name="1stimpress">Kleinke, Chris L., First Impressions: The Psychology of Encountering Others, Prentice-Hall, 1975, p. 13. ISBN 0-13-318428-5 [http://books.google.com/books?id=4AMR5O8o-_4C&pgis=1 Google Print]</ref>
* ''The Psychology of Person Identification'' (published 1978) states, "They also say that every President of the USA elected since the turn of the century has been the taller of the two candidates (Jimmy Carter being an exception)."<ref name="personid">Clifford, Brian R. and Ray Bull, ''The Psychology of Person Identification'', Routledge & K. Paul, 1978, p. 115. ISBN 0-7100-8867-1. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0710088671&pgis=1 Google Print]</ref>
* A 1999 book, ''Survival of the Prettiest'' by Nancy Etcoff, repeated a version of the legend in a section on the power of heights, "...Since 1776 only [two Presidents,] James Madison and Benjamin Harrison[,] have been below-average height. The easiest way to predict the winner in a United States election is to bet on the taller man: in this century you would have had an unbroken string of hits until 1968 when Richard Nixon beat George McGovern."<ref>Etcoff, Nancy, ''Survival of the Prettiest'', New York, Anchor Books, 1999. ISBN 0-385-47942-5</ref>

==Statistical breakdown==
For the 46 elections in which the heights of both candidates are known, the taller candidate won 27 times (approximately 59 percent of the time), the shorter candidate won 17 times (approximately 37 percent of the time), and the candidates were the same height two times (about 4 percent of the time). Of those who were not President or Vice president at the time of the election, the popular vote was won by six who were shorter and sixteen who were taller. We might assume, however, that James Madison, the shortest President, was shorter than his opponent, and this would increase the number to seven for the shorter candidate.

It should be noted, however, that in three of the cases in which the shorter candidate won, the taller candidate actually received more popular votes but lost in the [[U.S. Electoral College|Electoral College]]; this happened in [[United States presidential election, 1824|1824]], [[United States presidential election, 1888|1888]], and [[United States presidential election, 2000|2000]] (the other time that the electoral vote winner was not the popular vote winner was in [[United States presidential election, 1876|1876]], for which we do not know the height of the loser).

So, of the 46 cases for which we have data, the taller candidate has won the popular vote 30 times (65 percent), and the shorter candidate only about 14 times (30 percent of them). This does constitute a [[statistically significant]] (p < .05) difference from [[chance]] by [[chi-square test]], although this is not the case when electoral victors are considered.

If considering restricting to elections in the 20th and 21st centuries, only 8 out of 27 elections were won by the shorter candidate.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Outcome
! Electoral vote winner
! Popular vote winner
|-
| Taller won
| 59 percent
| 65 percent
|-
| Shorter won
| 37 percent
| 30 percent
|-
| Same height
| 4 percent
| 5 percent
|}

==Extremes==
The tallest President elected to office was [[Abraham Lincoln]] (6'3 3/4", 1.92 m); the tallest President to originally enter the office by means other than election was [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] (6'3½", 1.91 m). The shortest President elected to office was [[James Madison]] (5'4", 1.62 m); the shortest President to originally enter the office by means other than election was [[Theodore Roosevelt]] (5'8", 1.74 m).

The tallest runner-up (of documented height) is [[Winfield Scott]], who stood 6'5" (1.96 m) and lost the [[U.S. presidential election, 1852|1852 election]] to [[Franklin Pierce]] (5'10", 1.78 m). The title of shortest runner-up (of documented height) is shared by four men, all 5'6" (1.68 m): [[Aaron Burr]], who lost to [[Thomas Jefferson]] in 1800; sitting President [[Martin Van Buren]], who lost to [[William Henry Harrison]], in 1840; sitting President [[Benjamin Harrison]], who lost to [[Grover Cleveland]] in 1892; and [[James M. Cox]], who lost to [[Warren G. Harding]] in 1920.

The largest height difference (when the heights of the winner and the runner-up are both known) was between the candidates of the 1812 election, when DeWitt Clinton stood 11 inches (0.28 m) taller than incumbent James Madison. The second-largest height difference was in the 1864 election, when [[Abraham Lincoln]] stood 10 inches (0.25 m) taller than his nearest rival, [[George B. McClellan|George McClellan]].

== See also ==
* [[Heightism#Heightism in politics]]

== Further reading ==
*{{cite book|title=Facts About the Presidents|author=Joseph Nathan Kane, Steven Anzovin, and Janet Podell|year=2001|publisher=Hw Wilson Co|id=ISBN 0824210077|pages=600 et seq.}}
* {{cite journal|title=Is Presidential Greatness Related to Height?|author=Paul M. Sommers|journal=The College Mathematics Journal|volume=33|issue=1|month=January |year=2002|pages=14&ndash;16|doi=10.2307/1558973}}
* {{cite web|title=The Presidents by Height and BMI|author=Michael A. Day|date=[[2001-09-26]]|url=http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060303.htm|work=U. S. Presidents Homework Help}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [http://www.hackwriters.com/tall.htm Stats: Does the taller man always win?]
* [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_308.html The Straight Dope: Does the taller candidate always win the election?]
* [http://www.elon.edu/e-web/pendulum/Issues/2004/onlinefeatures/election/tall.xhtml Is presidential race a simple matter of standing tall?]
* [http://www.washingtonian.com/capital_comment/2004/1004capcom.html Forget Hair Dyes, Get Some Lifts!]

{{Lists of US Presidents and Vice Presidents}}

[[Category:Lists of United States politicians|President]]
[[Category:Lists relating to the United States presidency|Height]]
[[Category:Presidency of the United States|Heights]]
[[Category:United States presidential candidates| ]]
[[Category:Human height|Presidential Candidates]]

[[ro:Lista preşedinţilor Statelor Unite ale Americii după înălţime]]

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