Age and Birthdate
 The U.S. Constitution decrees that our president’s minimum age at the time of inauguration should not be less than thirty-five years.
Article II, Section 1, Clause 5
No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), the country’s 26th president (1901-1909), was the youngest to have held the office. Serving as vice-president, Roosevelt was elevated to the presidency following the assassination of President William McKinley (1843-1901) in 1901. He was 42 years, 322 days old during his inauguration on September 14, 1901.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963), our 35th president (1961-1963), was the youngest president elected to the office. He was 43 years, 236 days old during his inauguration, which was held on January 20, 1961.
Our 40th president, Ronald Reagan, was the oldest to assume the presidency. He was 69 years, 349 days old at his inauguration. At 77 years, 348 days, Reagan is also the oldest to leave office.
President Barack Obama was 47 years, 169 days during his inauguration, the fifth youngest, behind Roosevelt, Kennedy, Bill Clinton (46y, 156d) and Ulysses S. Grant (46y, 311d).
Complete List: Age of Presidents during Inauguration
| Nos |
President |
Age at Inauguration |
| 1 |
George Washington |
57 years, 67 days |
| 2 |
John Adams |
61 years, 125 days |
| 3 |
Thomas Jefferson |
57 years, 325 days |
| 4 |
James Madison |
57 years, 353 days |
| 5 |
James Monroe |
58 years, 310 days |
| 6 |
John Quincy Adams |
57 years, 236 days |
| 7 |
Andrew Jackson |
61 years, 354 days |
| 8 |
Martin Van Buren |
54 years, 89 days |
| 9 |
William Henry Harrison |
68 years, 23 days |
| 10 |
John Tyler |
51 years, 6 days |
| 11 |
James K. Polk |
49 years, 122 days |
| 12 |
Zachary Taylor |
64 years, 100 days |
| 13 |
Millard Fillmore |
50 years, 183 days |
| 14 |
Franklin Pierce |
48 years, 101 days |
| 15 |
James Buchanan |
65 years, 315 days |
| 16 |
Abraham Lincoln |
52 years, 20 days |
| 17 |
Andrew Johnson |
56 years, 107 days |
| 18 |
Ulysses S. Grant |
46 years, 311 days |
| 19 |
Rutherford B. Hayes |
54 years, 151 days |
| 20 |
James A. Garfield |
49 years, 105 days |
| 21 |
Chester A. Arthur |
51 years, 349 days |
| 22 |
Grover Cleveland |
47 years, 351 days |
| 23 |
Benjamin Harrison |
55 years, 196 days |
| 24 |
Grover Cleveland |
55 years, 351 days |
| 25 |
William McKinley |
54 years, 34 days |
| 26 |
Theodore Roosevelt |
42 years, 322 days |
| 27 |
William Howard Taft |
51 years, 170 days |
| 28 |
Woodrow Wilson |
56 years, 66 days |
| 29 |
Warren G. Harding |
55 years, 122 days |
| 30 |
Calvin Coolidge |
51 years, 29 days |
| 31 |
Herbert Hoover |
54 years, 206 days |
| 32 |
Franklin D. Roosevelt |
51 years, 33 days |
| 33 |
Harry S. Truman |
60 years, 339 days |
| 34 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower |
62 years, 98 days |
| 35 |
John F. Kennedy |
43 years, 236 days |
| 36 |
Lyndon B. Johnson |
55 years, 87 days |
| 37 |
Richard Nixon |
56 years, 11 days |
| 38 |
Gerald Ford |
61 years, 26 days |
| 39 |
Jimmy Carter |
52 years, 111 days |
| 40 |
Ronald Reagan |
69 years, 349 days |
| 41 |
George H. W. Bush |
64 years, 222 days |
| 42 |
Bill Clinton |
46 years, 154 days |
| 43 |
George W. Bush |
54 years, 198 days |
| 44 |
Barack Obama |
47 years, 169 days |
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