The tallest and shortest presidents
Abraham Lincoln was the tallest, at 6'4". James Madison was the shortest, at about 5'4", a full foot shorter. Lyndon B. Johnson came close to Lincoln at about 6'3½". Here’s every president, tallest first. POTUS KO stops at Reagan, so the ones after him are marked Not in POTUS KO.
Heights from the 1700s and 1800s are shakier than you’d think, so each one is marked the way the POTUS KO binder marks stories. Record means a presidential library, the National Park Service, the National Archives or a similar source states it. Commonly cited means it’s the number most references repeat, but we couldn’t find it in a record like that. Disputed means good sources disagree, and we show both.
| Rank | President | Height | How sure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | #16 Abraham Lincoln | 6'4" | RecordSource: Miller Center, Lincoln |
| 2 | #36 Lyndon B. Johnson | 6'3½" | Commonly cited |
| 3 | #45 & 47 Donald Trump | 6'3" | DisputedNot in POTUS KOHis 2018 White House physical lists 6'3". His driver’s license and 1964 draft card list 6'2".Source: TIME, on the height on his driver’s license |
| 4 | #3 Thomas Jefferson | 6'2½" | RecordSource: Monticello, Jefferson’s Height |
| 5 | #1 George Washington | 6'2" | DisputedMount Vernon says 6'2". In a 1761 letter to his London tailor, Washington wrote that he was six feet.Source: Mount Vernon, Athleticism |
| 6 | #21 Chester A. Arthur | 6'2" | Commonly cited |
| 7 | #32 Franklin D. Roosevelt | 6'2" | DisputedHis 1918 passport says 6'0½". |
| 8 | #41 George H. W. Bush | 6'2" | Commonly citedNot in POTUS KO |
| 9 | #42 Bill Clinton | 6'2" | RecordNot in POTUS KOSource: Clinton White House, briefing on the President’s 2001 medical checkup |
| 10 | #44 Barack Obama | 6'1½" | RecordNot in POTUS KOSource: Obama White House, The President’s Periodic Physical Exam (2016) |
| 11 | #5 James Monroe | 6'1" | Commonly cited |
| 12 | #7 Andrew Jackson | 6'1" | Commonly cited |
| 13 | #35 John F. Kennedy | 6'1" | DisputedHis Navy physicals recorded 6'0" in 1941 and 5'11½" in 1942. |
| 14 | #40 Ronald Reagan | 6'1" | RecordSource: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Facts about Ronald Reagan |
| 15 | #10 John Tyler | 6'0" | Commonly cited |
| 16 | #15 James Buchanan | 6'0" | Commonly cited |
| 17 | #20 James A. Garfield | 6'0" | Commonly cited |
| 18 | #29 Warren G. Harding | 6'0" | Commonly cited |
| 19 | #38 Gerald Ford | 6'0" | RecordSource: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, Facts and Favorites |
| 20 | #43 George W. Bush | 6'0" | DisputedNot in POTUS KOHis 2001 White House physical recorded 6'0". Reporting on his 2007 physical gave 5'11½".Source: Bush White House, Summary of the President’s Physical Examination (2001) |
| 21 | #46 Joe Biden | 6'0" | RecordNot in POTUS KOSource: Biden White House, President Biden’s current health summary (2024) |
| 22 | #27 William Howard Taft | 5'11½" | Commonly cited |
| 23 | #37 Richard Nixon | 5'11½" | DisputedHis Navy physicals in 1943 and 1945 recorded 5'10½". |
| 24 | #22 & 24 Grover Cleveland | 5'11" | Commonly cited |
| 25 | #28 Woodrow Wilson | 5'11" | Commonly citedHis own 1918 passport application says 5'10½". |
| 26 | #31 Herbert Hoover | 5'11" | Commonly cited |
| 27 | #14 Franklin Pierce | 5'10" | Commonly cited |
| 28 | #17 Andrew Johnson | 5'10" | Commonly cited |
| 29 | #26 Theodore Roosevelt | 5'10" | DisputedA detailed record of his measurements gives 5'8". |
| 30 | #30 Calvin Coolidge | 5'10" | DisputedOne reference puts him at slightly over 5'8". |
| 31 | #34 Dwight D. Eisenhower | 5'10" | RecordSource: Eisenhower Presidential Library, Physical Appearance |
| 32 | #39 Jimmy Carter | 5'9½" | Commonly cited |
| 33 | #13 Millard Fillmore | 5'9" | DisputedThe U.S. Senate’s biography of him says he stood six feet tall. |
| 34 | #33 Harry S. Truman | 5'9" | DisputedA 1917 physical exam recorded 5'8". |
| 35 | #19 Rutherford B. Hayes | 5'8½" | Commonly cited |
| 36 | #9 William Henry Harrison | 5'8" | Commonly cited |
| 37 | #11 James K. Polk | 5'8" | Commonly cited |
| 38 | #12 Zachary Taylor | 5'8" | RecordSource: EBSCO Research Starters, Zachary Taylor |
| 39 | #18 Ulysses S. Grant | 5'8" | RecordSource: National Archives, Happy Birthday, Ulysses S. Grant |
| 40 | #6 John Quincy Adams | 5'7½" | Commonly cited |
| 41 | #2 John Adams | 5'7" | Commonly cited |
| 42 | #25 William McKinley | 5'7" | Commonly cited |
| 43 | #8 Martin Van Buren | 5'6" | Commonly cited |
| 44 | #23 Benjamin Harrison | 5'6" | Commonly cited |
| 45 | #4 James Madison | 5'4" | RecordSource: Miller Center, Madison |
Questions about presidents’ heights
Who was the tallest president?
Abraham Lincoln, at 6 feet 4 inches. Lyndon B. Johnson was second at about 6 feet 3½.
Who was the shortest president?
James Madison, at about 5 feet 4 inches and maybe 100 pounds. He lived to 85 anyway.
How tall was George Washington?
Mount Vernon puts him at 6 feet 2. In a 1761 letter ordering clothes from his London tailor, Washington himself wrote that he was six feet.
Height is on the tale of the tape
In POTUS KO, every president’s height is on the tale of the tape before you fight, and a tall one with long arms fights like it.
See POTUS KO