WHO'S NEXT IN LINE, ANYWAY?

Below is an unofficial list, using either the Constitution or the appropriate supporting federal law (the Presidential Succession Acts of 1792, 1886 or 1947, as the case may be), of Presidents of the United States together with the person next in the line of succession, when each assumed that role, and the office that they held which placed them next in line.  The list is based on information retrieved from public sources, so while it is by and large accurate, some errors may exist.

In cases where a number in parenthesis appears next to a name or office, supplementary information is provided after the list below.

Date Began Date Ended   President   "Next In Line" and Office
30 April 1789 04 March 1797 1. George Washington 1. John Adams, Vice President
04 March 1797 04 March 1801 2. John Adams 2. Thomas Jefferson, Vice President
04 March 1801 04 March 1805 3. Thomas Jefferson 3. Aaron Burr, Vice President
04 March 1805 04 March 1809   Thomas Jefferson 4. George Clinton, Vice President
04 March 1809 20 April 1812 4. James Madison   George Clinton, Vice President (1)
20 April 1812 04 March 1813   James Madison 5. William Harris Crawford, President Pro Tempore
04 March 1813 23 November 1814   James Madison 6. Elbridge Gerry, Vice President (1)
23 November 1814 25 November 1814   James Madison 7. Langdon Cheeves, Speaker of the House
25 November 1814 04 March 1817   James Madison 8. John Gaillard, President Pro Tempore
04 March 1817 04 March 1825 5. James Monroe 9. Daniel Tompkins, Vice President
04 March 1825 04 March 1829 6. John Quincy Adams 10. John Caldwell Calhoun, Vice President
04 March 1829 28 December 1832 7. Andrew Jackson   John Caldwell Calhoun, Vice President (2)
28 December 1832 04 March 1833   Andrew Jackson 11. Hugh Lawson White, President Pro Tempore
04 March 1833 04 March 1837   Andrew Jackson 12. Martin Van Buren, Vice President
04 March 1837 04 March 1841 8. Martin Van Buren 13. Richard Mentor Johnson, Vice President
04 March 1841 04 April 1841 9. William Henry Harrison (1) 14. John Tyler, Vice President
04 April 1841 31 May 1842 10. John Tyler 15. Samuel Lewis Southard, President Pro Tempore
31 May 1842 04 March 1845   John Tyler 16. Willie Person Mangum, President Pro Tempore
04 March 1845 04 March 1849 11. James Knox Polk 17. George Mifflin Dallas, Vice President
04 March 1849 05 March 1849   vacant (3)   vacant (3)
05 March 1849 09 July 1850 12. Zachary Taylor (1) 18. Millard Fillmore, Vice President
09 July 1850 11 July 1850 13. Millard Fillmore   vacant (4)
11 July 1850 20 December 1852   Millard Fillmore 19. William Rufus DeVane King, President Pro Tem.
20 December 1852 04 March 1853   Millard Fillmore 20. David Rice Atchison, President Pro Tempore
04 March 1853 18 April 1853 14. Franklin Pierce 21. William Rufus DeVane King, Vice Pres (1, 5)
18 April 1853 04 December 1854   Franklin Pierce 22. David Rice Atchison, President Pro Tem. (5)
04 December 1854 05 December 1854   Franklin Pierce 23. Lewis Cass, President Pro Tempore
05 December 1854 09 June 1856   Franklin Pierce 24. Jesse David Bright, President Pro Tempore
09 June 1856 10 June 1856   Franklin Pierce 25. Charles Edward Stuart, President Pro Tempore
10 June 1856 06 January 1857   Franklin Pierce 26. Jesse David Bright, President Pro Tem. (5)
06 January 1857 04 March 1857   Franklin Pierce 27. James Murray Mason, President Pro Tempore
04 March 1857 04 March 1861 15. James Buchanan 28. John Cabell Breckinridge, Vice President
04 March 1861 04 March 1865 16. Abraham Lincoln 29. Hannibal Hamlin, Vice President
04 March 1865 15 April 1865   Abraham Lincoln (1) 30. Andrew Johnson, Vice President
15 April 1865 07 May 1865 17. Andrew Johnson 31. Schuyler Colfax, Speaker of the House
07 May 1865 02 March 1867   Andrew Johnson 32. Lafayette Sabine Foster, President Pro Tempore
02 March 1867 04 March 1869   Andrew Johnson 33. Benjamin Franklin Wade, President Pro Tempore
04 March 1869 04 March 1873 18. Ulysses Simpson Grant 34. Schuyler Colfax, Vice President (5)
04 March 1873 22 November 1875   Ulysses Simpson Grant 35. Henry Wilson, Vice President (died)
22 November 1875 04 March 1877   Ulysses Simpson Grant 36. Thomas White Ferry, President Pro Tempore
04 March 1877 04 March 1881 19. Rutherford Birchard Hayes 37. William Almon Wheeler, Vice President
04 March 1881 19 September 1881 20. James Abram Garfield (1) 38. Chester Alan Arthur, Vice President
19 September 1881 10 October 1881 21. Chester Alan Arthur 39. Samuel Jackson Randall, Speaker of the House
10 October 1881 13 October 1881   Chester Alan Arthur 40. Thomas Francis Bayard, President Pro Tempore
13 October 1881 04 March 1883   Chester Alan Arthur 41. David Davis, President Pro Tempore
04 March 1883 04 March 1885   Chester Alan Arthur 42. George Franklin Edmunds, President Pro Tem.
04 March 1885 25 November 1885 22. Stephen Grover Cleveland 43. Thomas Andrews Hendricks, Vice Pres. (1)
25 November 1885 07 December 1885   Stephen Grover Cleveland 44. John Griffin Carlisle, Speaker of the House
07 December 1885 19 January 1886   Stephen Grover Cleveland 45. John Sherman, President Pro Tempore (6)
19 January 1886 04 March 1889   Stephen Grover Cleveland 46. Thomas F. Bayard, Sec. of State (5)
04 March 1889 04 March 1893 23. Benjamin Harrison 47. Levi Parsons Morton, Vice President
04 March 1893 04 March 1897 24. Stephen Grover Cleveland (5) 48. Adlai Ewing Stevenson, Vice President
04 March 1897 21 November 1899 25. William McKinley 49. Garret Augustus Hobart, Vice President (1)
21 November 1899 04 March 1901   William McKinley 50. John Milton Hay, Sec. of State
04 March 1901 14 September 1901   William McKinley (1) 51. Theodore Roosevelt, Vice President
14 September 1901 04 March 1905 26. Theodore Roosevelt 52. John Milton Hay, Sec. of State (5)
04 March 1905 04 March 1909   Theodore Roosevelt 53. Charles Warren Fairbanks, Vice President
04 March 1909 30 October 1912 27. William Howard Taft 54. James Schoolcraft Sherman, Vice Pres. (1)
30 October 1912 04 March 1913   William Howard Taft 55. Philander Chase Knox, Sec. of State
04 March 1913 04 March 1921 28. Thomas Woodrow Wilson 56. Thomas Riley Marshall, Vice President
04 March 1921 02 August 1923 29. Warren G. Harding (1) 57. John Calvin Coolidge, Jr., Vice President
02 August 1923 04 March 1925 30. John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. 58. Charles Evans Hughes, Sec. of State
04 March 1925 04 March 1929   John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. 59. Charles Gates Dawes, Vice President
04 March 1929 04 March 1933 31. Herbert Clark Hoover 60. Charles Curtis, Vice President
04 March 1933 20 January 1941 32. Franklin Delano Roosevelt 61. John Nance Garner, Vice President
20 January 1941 20 January 1945   Franklin Delano Roosevelt 62. Henry Agard Wallace, Vice President
20 January 1945 12 April 1945   Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1) 63. Harry S Truman, Vice President
12 April 1945 27 June 1945 33. Harry S Truman 64. Edward Reilly Stettinius, Jr., Sec. of State (2)
27 June 1945 03 July 1945   Harry S Truman 65. Henry Morgenthau, Jr. Sec. of the Treasury
03 July 1945 18 January 1947   Harry S Truman 66. James Francis Byrnes, Sec. of State (7)
18 January 1947 20 January 1949   Harry S Truman 67. Joseph William Martin, Jr., Speaker of the House
20 January 1949 20 January 1953   Harry S Truman 68. Alben William Barkley, Vice President
20 January 1953 20 January 1961 34. Dwight David Eisenhower 69. Richard Milhous Nixon, Vice President
20 January 1961 22 November 1963 35. John F. Kennedy (1) 70. Lyndon Baines Johnson, Vice President
22 November 1963 20 January 1965 36. Lyndon Baines Johnson 71. John William McCormack, Speaker of the House
20 January 1965 20 January 1969   Lyndon Baines Johnson 72. Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr., Vice President
20 January 1969 10 October 1973 37. Richard Milhous Nixon 73. Spiro Theodore Agnew, Vice President (2)
10 October 1973 06 December 1973   Richard Milhous Nixon 74. Carl Bert Albert, Speaker of the House
06 December 1973 09 August 1974   Richard Milhous Nixon (2) 75. Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr., Vice President
09 August 1974 19 December 1974 38. Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. 76. Carl Bert Albert, Speaker of the House (5)
19 December 1974 20 January 1977   Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. 77. Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, Vice President
20 January 1977 20 January 1981 39. James Earl Carter, Jr. 78. Walter Frederick Mondale, Vice President
20 January 1981 13 July 1985 40. Ronald Wilson Reagan 79. George Herbert Walker Bush, Vice President
13 July 1985 (hours) Act George H.W. Bush 80. Thomas Phillip O'Neill, Speaker of the House
13 July 1985 20 January 1989 40. Ronald Wilson Reagan 81. George Herbert Walker Bush, Vice Pres. (2)
20 January 1989 20 January 1993 41. George H.W. Bush 82. James Danforth Quayle III, Vice President
20 January 1993 20 January 2001 42. William Jefferson Clinton 83. Albert Arnold Gore, Jr., Vice President
20 January 2001 29 June 2002 43. George Walker Bush 84. Richard Bruce Cheney, Vice President
29 June 2002 (hours) Act Richard Bruce Cheney 85. John Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House
29 June 2002 21 July 2007 43. George Walker Bush 86. Richard Bruce Cheney, Vice President (2)
21 July 2007 (hours) Act Richard Bruce Cheney 87. Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi, Speaker
21 July 2007 20 January 2009 43. George Walker Bush 88. Richard Bruce Cheney, Vice President (8)
20 January 2009 present 44. Barack Hussein Obama 89. Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., Vice President

Notes regarding the above list:

  1. Died in office.
  2. Resigned from office.
  3. See "1849:  President Who?" for more information.
  4. When MILLARD FILLMORE ascended to the presidency, there was no sitting President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and Howell Cobb, who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives, was constitutionally ineligible to act as President.
  5. Second time in office or "next in line," as the case may be.
  6. On January 19, 1886, President GROVER CLEVELAND signed the Presidential Succession Act of 1886 into law, which changed the order of succession so that the Secretary of State was "next in line" should there be no Vice President.
  7. On January 18, 1947, HARRY S TRUMAN signed the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 into law, which changed the order of succession so that the Speaker of the House of Representatives was "next in line" should there be no Vice President.
  8. Third time in office or "next in line," as the case may be.

Other things worth noting:

  1. For purposes of the list above, Presidents resuming the powers and duties of their offices following an invocation of the 25th Amendment are not considered to have served non-consecutive terms.  However, for purposes of being "next in line" above, Vice Presidents completing such service as Acting President are.
  2. JOHN ADAMS was sworn in as the nation's first Vice President on April 21, 1789, nine days before George Washington was sworn in as President.  While some may consider him to be a de facto Acting President during this period, as there was neither a succession law in place nor an office of President to succeed to, such claims are specious at best.
  3. WILLIAM RUFUS DeVANE KING was the first person to be "next in line" on two separate occasions.
  4. WILLIAM RUFUS DeVANE KING, SCHUYLER COLFAX, and THOMAS FRANCIS BAYARD each hold the distinction of being "next in line" on multiple occasions, but by virtue of holding different offices in each case.
  5. RICHARD BRUCE CHENEY is the only person to have been "next in line" on three distinct occasions, having been called upon to act as President briefly twice during the administration of GEORGE WALKER BUSH.
Home
1787:  The Constitutional Convention
1790:  The Father Falls Ill
1792:  First Pass
1813 and 1818:  Back to Back Illnesses
1841:  Establishing a Precedent
1844:  The Princeton Disaster
1849:  President Who?
1850:  The Death of President Taylor
1868:  A Near Congressional Coup
1881:  The Garfield Crisis
1886:  Second Time Around
1901:  The McKinley Incapacity
1919 to 1921:  The Clarion Call Unanswered
1943 to 1945:  FDR's Later Years
1947:  Third Time the Charm?
1953:  The Eisenhower-Nixon Agreement
1963:  Tragedy in Dallas
History of the 25th Amendment
Historical Invocations
Current Presidential Succession Law
25th Amendment in Popular Culture
Who's Next in Line, Anyway?
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Copyright © 2007, 2009, 2011 - D.P. McIntire.  All Rights Reserved.

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