List of left-handed presidents of the United States

At least seven of the 45 persons^[a][1] who have held the office of United States president have been left-handed.^[2][3] Only one U.S. president prior to the 20th century was known to be left-handed.^[4] Since World War II there have been fourteen U.S. presidents^[2] and six of them have been left-handed.^[5][6]

Barack Obama signing with his left hand

Various theories about why left-handers are overrepresented among U.S. presidents have been proposed. Biologist Amar Klar studied handedness and determined that left-handed people "...have a wider scope of thinking".^[6] In a 2019 Journal of Neurosurgery article Nathan R. Selden argued that since left-handed people are right-hemisphere–dominant individuals, this might make presidents, "more effective leaders or at least more effective political candidates".^[7] A University of British Columbia psychology professor, Stanley Coren, authored the book The Left-Handed Syndrome, in which he claimed that "left-handers actually have a profile that works very well for a politician".^[8] In a 2021 Business Insider article titled, "From Barack Obama to Julius Caesar, here are 12 world leaders who were left-handed" reporters Alexandra Ma and Talia Lakritz state, "According to some research, lefties may be more creative, be better at 'divergent thinking' – generating new ideas based on existing information – and face challenges better."^[9][10]

Medical researcher Jonathan Belsey argued that, given a 13% prevalence of left-handedness, the long-term average is not statistically high, but rather has a p-value of 0.77, and that even the post-1881 prevalence has a 0.10 likelihood of occurring by chance.^[3]

Left-handed presidents of the United States

• James A. Garfield (March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881) was ambidextrous;^[11] he was the only known left-handed president prior to the 20th century.^[4]
• Harry S. Truman (April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1953) was left-handed as a child,^[4] he wrote with his right hand and used his left for most other activities.^[12][13]
• Gerald Ford (August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977) was left-handed.
• Ronald Reagan (January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989) was naturally left-handed, but wrote with his right hand.^[12][9]
• George H. W. Bush (January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993) was left-handed. All three major candidates for president in 1992 were left-handed; Bill Clinton won.^[6]
• Bill Clinton (January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001) is left-handed.^[14]
• Barack Obama (January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017) is left-handed.^[15][16]

Other presidents who demonstrated left-handed ability

• Thomas Jefferson (March 4, 1801 – March 4, 1809) was right-handed, but after an injury to his right wrist, he wrote with his left hand.^[17] He was said to have been ambidextrous, and he could write equally well with either hand.^[18]
• Woodrow Wilson (March 4, 1913 – March 4, 1921) was right-handed but after a stroke Wilson was able to use his left hand to write "perfectly legible well-formed characters". His ability was called "remarkable neurologically".^[19]

See also

• List of presidents of the United States