Length of United States President's terms 1789-2021

Since 1789, 45 different men have served as the President of the United States (Grover Cleveland*** is counted twice, therefore Joe Biden is officially the 46 th president). In that time, the majority of presidents served their full four or eight year terms, while four died while in office, and four more were assassinated. The shortest term served by a US president was William Henry Harrison, who died just 31 days into his tenure. The longest term ever served was by Franklin D. Roosevelt, who is the only president to have been elected more than two times; although he died just forty days into his fourth presidential term. The only president to have ever resigned while in office was Richard Nixon, who stepped down amid the Watergate scandal in 1972. For most of U.S. history, presidents have been inaugurated in March following the election; however, since 1953, US presidents have been sworn in on January 20th, providing there were no extenuating circumstances.

Length of time spent in office by every President of the United States from 1789 to 2021 (in years)

table column chart
CharacteristicYears in office
George Washington7.84
John Adams4
Thomas Jefferson8
James Madison8
James Monroe8
John Quincy Adams4
Andrew Jackson8
Martin Van Buren4
William H. Harrison*0.08
John Tyler3.92
James K. Polk4
Zachary Taylor*1.35
Millard Fillmore2.65
Franklin Pierce4
James Buchanan4
Abraham Lincoln**4.11
Andrew Johnson3.89
Ulysses S. Grant8
Rutherford B. Hayes4
James A. Garfield**0.54
Chester A. Arthur3.46
Grover Cleveland***8
Benjamin Harrison4
William McKinley**4.53
Theodore Roosevelt7.47
William H. Taft4
Woodrow Wilson8
Warren G. Harding*2.41
Calvin Coolidge5.59
Herbert Hoover4
Franklin D. Roosevelt*12.11
Harry S. Truman7.78
Dwight D. Eisenhower8
John F. Kennedy**2.84
Lyndon B. Johnson5.16
Richard Nixon****5.55
Gerald Ford2.45
Jimmy Carter4
Ronald Raegan8
George H. W. Bush4
Bill Clinton8
George W. Bush8
Barack Obama8
Donald Trump4
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* Died while in office.

**Assassinated while in office.

***Served two, non-consecutive terms.

****Stepped down while in office

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