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John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. ( July 4 , 1872 – January 5 , 1933 ) was
the twenty-ninth ( 1921 - 1923 ) Vice President and the thirtieth ( 1923
- 1929 ) President of the United States, succeeding to that office upon
the death of Warren Harding.
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Order: |
30th President |
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Term of Office: |
August 3 , 1923 - March 4 , 1929 |
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Followed: |
Warren
G. Harding |
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Succeeded by: |
Herbert
Hoover |
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Date of Birth |
Thursday , July 4 , 1872 |
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Place of Birth: |
Plymouth , Vermont |
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Date of Death: |
Tuesday , January 5 , 1933 |
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Place of Death: |
Northampton, Massachusetts |
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First Lady : |
Grace Anna Goodhue |
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Profession: |
lawyer |
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Political Party : |
Republican |
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Vice President : |
Charles G. Dawes |
Biography
He was born in Plymouth, Windsor County , Vermont on July 4, 1872, but
dropped John from his name upon graduating from college. He attended
Amherst College, Massachusetts, graduating in 1895. He practiced law
in Northampton, Massachusetts, and was a member of the city council in
1899, city solicitor from 1900 - 1902, clerk of courts in 1904, and a member of the State house of representatives 1907 - 1908.
Coolidge was elected mayor of Northampton in 1910 and 1911, was a
member of the State senate 1912 - 1915, serving as president of that
body in 1914 and 1915. He was lieutenant governor of the state 1916 -
1918, and Governor 1919 - 1920. He was elected Vice President of the
United States on the Republican ticket headed by Warren G. Harding in
1920. He was inaugurated on March 4 , 1921 , and served until August 3,
1923. Upon the death of President Harding, Coolidge became President of
the United States on August 3, 1923. Coolidge was visiting at the family
home, still without electricity or telephone, when he got word of
Harding's death. His father, a notary public, administered the oath of
office in the family's parlor by the light of a kerosene lamp; Coolidge
was resworn by a federal official upon his return to Washington.
Unusually for a prominent politician, Coolidge was a man of few
words, earning him the nickname "Silent Cal."
He was elected President of the United States in 1924 for the term
expiring March 4, 1929. Coolidge made use of the new medium of radio
and made radio history several times while president: his inauguration
was the first presidential inauguration broadcast on radio, on February
12 , 1924 he became the first President of the United States to deliver
a political speech on radio and on February 22 he also became the first
to deliver such a speech from the White House.
Coolidge was the last President of the United States who did not
attempt to intervene in free markets, letting business cycles run their
course. During his Presidency, the United States experienced a wildly
successful period of economic growth: the so-called " Roaring Twenties." Coolidge was not only able to lower taxes, but also to reduce the
national debt.
He was not a candidate for renomination; he announced his decision
with typical terseness: "I do not choose to run for President in 1928 ."
He served as chairman of the Nonpartisan Railroad Commission and as
honorary president of the Foundation of the Blind. He died at "The
Beeches," Northampton, Massachusetts, January 5, 1933 . Interment is in
Notch Cemetery, Plymouth, Vermont.
Supreme Court appointments
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