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Smartest US Presidents According To IQ Score

Published

5 years ago

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Even if you have different political views of these presidents, there is one thing that everyone in this world can agree on is that it isn’t being the POTUS. You have to deal with major world problems and respond quickly with all the countries resources.
How much brainpower does it truly take to run one of the world’s most powerful countries? A researcher from UC Davis thought of this exact question recently and compiled data.

George W. Bush — IQ 124

You may be surprised to find “Dubya” higher up on this list, especially if you thought the whole invading Iraq thing was a terrible decision. Whatever your political association and viewpoint may be, though, it doesn’t change the numbers.

Gerald Ford — IQ 127

Before he even sat in the Oval Office, Ford was an honors student at South High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Following that, he earned a degree in Economics and Political Science at the University of Michigan and had a brief stint as a football coach for Yale before becoming political.

Herbert Hoover — IQ 129.77

Hoover was a Stanford University graduate where he majored in geology, and he served as the treasurer for the football and baseball teams. His experience dealing with money and budgeting was put to use once he took office right as the U.S was plunged into the Great Depression.

Ronald Reagan — IQ 130

Many fondly remember Reagan for his moral uprightness and his skills in ushering the U.S. through the perils of the Cold War. It takes someone with a high IQ to accomplish something of that caliber, which is exactly what ol’ Ron had.

George H.W. Bush — IQ 130.1

I guess you can’t keep those Bush boys down! Bush Sr. served in the Navy before graduating from an Ivy League University and then Yale as a Delta Kappa Epsilon member. Oh, and he also happened to be the captain of the baseball team.

William McKinley — IQ 130.2

Despite being an Allegheny college dropout, McKinley later ended up earning a law degree from Albany Law School. Unfortunately, the U.S. never really got to see what his intelligence could have done for the country, as he was assassinated only six months into his presidency.

Grover Cleveland — IQ 130.9

He may have had the whiskers of a walrus, but he most certainly didn’t have the brains of one. He couldn’t even afford college, but that didn’t prevent Grover from becoming a successful and respectable lawyer who employed his honesty and ethics in his presidency.

Richard Nixon — IQ 131

People don’t generally associate Nixon with intelligence (you know, because of the whole Watergate thing), but he did earn a law degree from the prestigious Duke University. Perhaps that just goes to show that intellect doesn’t always equal wisdom.

Dwight D. Eisenhower — IQ 131.9

Fondly remembered as one of our most upstanding presidents, Eisenhower was a highly regarded five-star general during WWII and later became instrumental in the desegregation in public schools during the Civil Rights Movement.

George Washington — IQ 132.5

It takes smarts to be a Founding Father and set the precedent for every president after you. His education level never rose above elementary school, yet he still managed to be a force against King George during the American Revolution and a highly respected first president.

Rutherford B. Hayes — IQ 133.9

By this point you’re likely thinking, “Why are all of the obscure presidents you don’t remember among the smartest presidents?” It’s a good question, a possible answer being that perhaps these guys were smart enough to avoid getting into controversy that would make them “famous.” For Rutherford, it was all he could do to keep a post-Civil War America on its feet.

Franklin D. Roosevelt — IQ 139.6

There’s been much controversy over whether FDR’s New Deal helped America during economic devastation or merely plunged it further down. The country must have agreed to the former at the time, because he was one of the few presidents who actually served three terms.

Abraham Lincoln — IQ 140

It naturally requires higher intelligence to be considered an honest person, though there’s some conjecture as to how honest “Honest Abe” truly was. Lincoln was yet another president in the Didn’t Attend College Club, but was nonetheless an eager learner throughout his life and a very charismatic leader.

James Madison — IQ 141.3

As a Princeton University graduate and the “Father of the Constitution,” it’s no overstatement to say that James Madison was surely a brilliant member of America’s presidency.

James Garfield — IQ 141.5

Garfield graduated second in his class at Williams College, but that wasn’t the extent of his intelligence. Historians are quite sure that he could write Latin with one hand and ancient Greek with the other!

Theodore Roosevelt — IQ 142.3

Rough rider, author, explorer, naturalist, Progressive — all testaments to Teddy’s high level of intellect. He was a Harvard graduate and published 35 books during his lifetime as well as being a driving force behind the preservation of the rapidly-dwindling American frontier.

John Adams — IQ 142.5

A Harvard graduate, Adams sat as George Washington’s Vice President before assuming the position of president himself, which he used to avoid a war with France. Though it’s impossible to prove indefinitely, some historians have deduced that his IQ was possibly higher than even Einstein’s!

Barack Obama — IQ 145

Love him or hate him, Obama graduated in the top 15% from Harvard Law School….and that was after receiving an undergraduate degree from Columbia. However, some would argue (and do argue) that adding over $9 trillion to the national debt wasn’t among his more intelligent accomplishments.

Jimmy Carter — IQ 145.1

There’s been a hefty amount of conjecture concerning whether Carter’s policies positively or negatively affected the country, even after earning his 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for his contributing efforts to human rights and civil service reform.

Woodrow Wilson — IQ 145.1

Before ever setting foot in the Oval Office, Woodrow Wilson earned a Ph.D. in political science from Princeton and was even selected to be their president.

Bill Clinton — IQ 148.8

He may have garnered several less-than-flattering nicknames while in office — Slick Willie, Compromiser in Chief, Bubba, Teflon Bill — but he has the privilege of retorting the naysayers with his very high IQ.

John F. Kennedy — IQ 150.7

Renowned for his inspirational and morale-boosting quotes, JFK was a devoted scholar. This was likely a key factor in being the youngest person to ever be elected to office.

Thomas Jefferson — IQ 153.8

Despite withdrawing from College of William and Mary, Jefferson was nonetheless a brilliant mind in the early years of the United States and was among the most influential members of its formation.

Donald Trump — 156

You might be surprised — shocked, even — to find The Donald higher than some of our most respectable presidents, but the Intel Institute has stated that Trump scored in the 99.9 percentile on his IQ test, placing him in the genius category. After all, it takes brains to be a wildly successful business entrepreneur!
And in the number one spot….

John Quincy Adams — 168.8

The son of John Adams, Quincy had the sharpest mind out of the whole lot. He was a Harvard graduate, a formidable lawyer, and was fluent in at least four languages!
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